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The crisis rocking the House of Representatives of the Republic of Liberia, reached a boiling point on Thursday November 21, when one of two factions in the House and so called “Majority Bloc” effected a controversial election of Representative Richard Koon (Unity Party, District 11, Montserrado County) as their new Speaker after summarily declaring the position of Speaker vacant despite the availability of current substantive Speaker, J. Fonati Koffa.
The legality of the action has however been questioned by Speaker Koffa and his leadership faction otherwise known as the “Minority Bloc”, with many criticizing the action of the “Majority Bloc” as contrary to democratic principles and the rule of law.
The United States, which is a close ally of Liberia, has also weighed in with US Ambassador to Liberia, Mark Toner, stating on Monday that;
“The United States wants to see Liberia’s political process play out peacefully and with respect to the rule of law. Now more than ever, Liberia’s leaders, past and present need to show unity.”
This radical development unfolded despite the actions of the ECOWAS Parliamentary Mediation and Diplomacy Mission, deployed to Liberia between November 11 and 16 2024 on the instruction of His Excellency, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, sitting Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which recommended a stay of any rash action until a peaceful resolution of the conflict could be achieved.
The ECOWAS Mission led by Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, RT. Hon Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima had in a communique detailing the findings of the mission, called for calm and a resolution of the impasse according to the stipulations of the 1986 constitution of Liberia and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.
According to the communique, “the Parliamentary delegation expresses deep concern over the prevailing situation in the Liberian House of Representatives. This situation has paralysed the legislative branch of the Liberian government, hindered the functioning of the government as a whole and caused genuine apprehension amongst the people of Liberia”
“Although it (the delegation) successfully brought both parties to the negotiating table and had several rounds of in-depth discussions with the stakeholders on contending issues, in an effort to reach an amicable settlement, the parliamentary delegation notes that the parties were not able to arrive at a favourable conclusion within the time frame of the mission. However the Parliamentary delegation mission remains fully seized of issues at stake and continues to engage with the parties involved to ensure that the desired outcome is achieved”
“Consequently the delegation emphasizes the need for all parties involved in this political impasse to conduct their search for a resolution within the legal framework enshrined in the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia and the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives”
However in a dramatic turn of events, the “Majority Bloc” consisting of 43 lawmakers, had on Thursday submitted a resolution calling for the removal of the current Speaker with 50 lawmakers purportedly signing the resolution. The development was subsequent to a vote of no confidence passed by the bloc earlier in the year. It is also instructive to note that while adopting the resolution during plenary, the majority bloc prevented the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Fallah from conducting a vote to officially endorse the resolution.
The speaker himself has called the action a sham and insists that the action was carried out contrary to Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution which guarantees the power of an elected Speaker over a six year tenure and several standing rules of the House on procedure. Hon. Koffa also says no vacancy occurred in the Speakers office to warrant such actions and he intends to remain in office.
Meanwhile on November 22, 2024, the Liberian Supreme Court issued a stay order instructing that status quo be maintained and the “Majority Bloc” cease all activities while the court reviews a petition filed on November 19, 2024 by House Speaker Koffa and his supporters. The petition challenges among other things “unauthorized convening of plenary sessions, suspension of lawmakers without due process, illegal committee restructuring, and the seizure of the 202 draft national budget”
Meanwhile, Member of the Liberian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament Hon. Taa Wongbe (Nimba County representative) says that the ongoing crisis is a litmus test for rule of law in Africa and the amount of respect that Liberian leadership has for the interventions of ECOWAS as a sub-regional body.
Hon. Wongbe stated that, “The action of the majority bloc in attempting to illegally remove a legitimate Speaker is an attempt to plunge Liberia back into lawlessness. They circumvented due process and are holding the country hostage.”
“Liberia is a case study for why we need ECOWAS, having benefited from the humanitarian and peacekeeping interventions of the sub regional body in the past. It is therefore unfortunate that any group would seek to undermine the constitution and due process especially after attempted ECOWAS Parliamentary Diplomacy and against the background of democratic reversal in other parts of West Africa.
In July when I felt the Speaker was wrong on other issues I spoke up against him but on this issue I must insist that the rule of law prevails. The 2nd ‘R’ in the President’s ARREST Agenda stands for the ‘Rule of Law’. This fight is not about Speaker Koffa! I stand with the R in the ARREST Agenda. The Law must prevail and our international partners are now speaking that language too”
With the spate of attacks on democracy across the sub region and the horrors experience during the civil wars in Liberia, Democracy in Post war Liberia is particularly delicate and must be handled with utmost care. The supremacy of the rule of law is essential and must be seen to prevail. The sub region anxiously awaits a final ruling of the Supreme Court of Liberia as the final arbiter in the matter.
