Embattled House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa reruns to the Supreme Court, accuses the majority bloc of deliberately boycotting legislative session.
By: Lawrence D. Kawala
November 21, 2024 – Speaker Koffa, head of the Pro-Koffa bloc of the House of Representatives have filed in a petition to the Supreme Court of Liberia, accusing the majority bloc, led by Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah, of deliberately boycotting legislative sessions.
They argued that the action from the majority bloc has created a constitutional crisis by preventing the House from conducting its mandated functions, including the passage of the Draft National Budget of Fiscal Year 2025.
The petition was submitted by Speaker Koffa that dated Tuesday, November 19, 2024. In the petition, Speaker Koffa and a group of Lawmakers alleged that the majority bloc has consistently refused to attend plenary sessions despite being formally invited on multiple occasions, and said a notarized affidavit issued by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives, which confirms the majority bloc’s absence, was included as evidence in the petition.
“The respondents’ refusal to attend duly convened legislative sessions of the Plenary of the House of Representatives has impeded, obstructed, and prevented the House’s ability to carry out and perform its mandated constitutional and legislative functions, including the enactment of the national budget into law for the ensuing 2025 financial year,” the petitioners stated.
The petition also described the respondents’ actions as a violation of the Liberian Constitution, statutory laws, and the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives.
They argued that Article 33 of the Constitution requires a simple majority of lawmakers to be present to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. By failing to attend sessions, the majority bloc has rendered the House unable to function.
“The deliberate refusal of the Respondents, who constitute the majority of the membership, violates the constitutional quorum requirement of Article 33 and prevents the House from the performance of its legislative duties,” the petition reads.They pointed out that this has created a “constitutional procedural impasse” that requires urgent resolution.
The legal team representing the petitioners, led by Counselors Arthur T. Johnson and James E. Pierre have asked the Court to declare the majority bloc’s refusal to attend plenary sessions as a violation of Article 33 of the Constitution and to compel them to comply with constitutional mandates.
Additionally, they requested that the petition be forwarded to the full Bench en banc, citing the gravity of the constitutional issues at hand. The petitioners stressed the urgency of the matter, stating, “The Respondents’ actions have raised grave, urgent, and pressing constitutional issues which have created a constitutional impasse requiring the immediate attention of and resolution by the Bench en banc.”
In their submission, they further requested the Court to “order the Respondents to comply with the provisions of Article 33 of the Constitution, the statutory laws of the Republic of Liberia, and the Standing Rules of the House of Representatives by attending plenary legislative sessions of the House of Representatives.”
The majority bloc is yet to formally respond to the petition, meanwhile, the group on today, November 21, 2024 endorsed a resolution to declare Speaker Koffa’s seat vacant.
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