Liberia, June 8 -- The Liberian People's Party (LPP), one of the country's oldest political parties, has petitioned the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court to declare unconstitutional a controversial provision of Liberia's elections law that could bar several political parties from participating in future elections.

The petition, filed against the National Elections Commission (NEC), challenges Section 5A of the Amended Elections Law of 2014, which empowers the NEC to suspend or effectively deregister political parties and independent candidates that fail to secure at least two percent of the valid votes cast in a general election or fail to win a legislative seat.

The LPP, headed by political leader Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe and Na...