Lingering speakership crisis in Liberian Parliament a litmus test for ECOWAS?
Liberia’s 73-member House of Representatives was recently hit by a leadership tussle when the 43-member Unity Party’s (UP) Majority Faction purportedly declared the speakership position vacant and elected their member, Rep. Richard Koon (UP-District 11, Montserrado County) as the new speaker.
This was, however, challenged by the 30-member Minority Faction, led by the incumbent speaker, Jonathan Koffa, who belongs to ex-President George Weah’s main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
The UP faction accused Koffa of misappropriating millions of dollars during his tenure as deputy speaker from 2021 to 2023, and since his election as speaker in January.
Koffa and his faction have, however, vehemently denied the allegations, and maintained that their opponents’ action was a constitutional aberration, which breached democratic principles and the Rule of Law.
According to them, he can only be constitutionally removed by at least 49 members, and not by 43 members because under the Liberian Law, the speaker can only be removed by a two-third majority.
Analysts are of the view that there is an urgent need to resolve the lingering leadership crisis engulfing the nation’s House of Representatives, noting that the development is a litmus test for ECOWAS to entrench the rule of law across the sub-region.
According to them, parties in the conflict alongside other stakeholders, should by all means nip the crisis in the bud amicably, and demonstrate their respect for ECOWAS and its leaders for their benevolent intervention.
The recent upsurge of unconstitutional changes of government in West Africa, the imminent exit of the Sahel member states, coupled with Liberia’s civil war horror experience, have indeed necessitated handling the Liberian situation with utmost diplomatic dexterity, they say.
Liberia is still reeling from the aftermath of its brutal and grueling 14-year civil war, and needs to avoid being plunged back into another round of fratricidal conflict, even as it needs the rule of law more than ever before, some suggest.
This will also enable the country to consolidate on its about 20 years of unbroken democratic gains under successive presidents, from Ellen Sirleaf, to George Weah and to the incumbent, Joseph Boakai.
Liberia’s first post-war polls took place in 2005, which ushered in the milestone election of Mrs Sirleaf as Africa’s first female president.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, had in a proactive diplomatic move prior to the speakership debacle, dispatched an ECOWAS Parliamentary Mediation and Diplomacy Mission to Liberia.
The mission engaged the parties involved in the debacle from Nov. 11 to 16.
Led by ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, the mission subsequently issued a communique on its findings and recommended the maintenance of the status quo by both factions until a peaceful resolution of the conflict was reached.
Ibrahima expressed deep concern over the prevailing situation, called for calm, and recommended the resolution of the impasse in accordance with the stipulations of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia and the Rules of Procedure of the country’s House of Representatives.
The ECOWAS Parliament Speaker said that the situation had paralysed the legislative branch of the Liberian government and hindered the functioning of the government as a whole, adding that it also caused genuine apprehension among the country’s citizens.
She acknowledged the fact that the delegation successfully brought both parties to the negotiating table and had several rounds of in-depth discussions with various stakeholders on the contending issues, but expressed regret that an amicable conclusion within the time frame of the mission’s mandate could not be reached.
“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 emphasises 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,” Ibrahima said.
Following the ECOWAS mission’s intervention, Koon’s majority bloc accepted five of the six recommendations it made but rejected the proposal for the parliamentarians to return to the main chamber, claiming that their action was legitimate under Article 66 of the Liberian Constitution.
Koffa’s minority faction, however, welcomed the proposal, described the ECOWAS-crafted six-point proposal as the best pathway to ending the impasse, and pledged commitment to fully implementing the proposals.
In a defiant dramatic twist, however, the majority faction thereafter went ahead to submit a resolution purportedly signed by no fewer than 50 lawmakers, from both factions, for Koffa’s removal, following the vote of no confidence, which they claimed to have earlier passed on him.
While adopting the resolution during plenary, the majority bloc, curiously, prevented the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Fallah, from conducting a vote to officially endorse the resolution.
Reacting, Koffa and his supporters approached the Liberian Supreme Court, seeking an Order of Mandamus, to nullify the “unauthorised convening of plenary sessions, suspension of lawmakers without due process, illegal committee restructuring, and the seizure of the 2025 draft national budget.”
They described the move as a sham, illegal, null and void, saying it contravened the provisions of Article 49 of the Liberian Constitution, and the Standing Rules of the House on procedure, which guarantees an elected speaker a six-year tenure.
U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Mark Toner, while commenting on the development, called for a peaceful resolution of the parliamentary impasse, as well as a strict adherence and respect for the rule of law.
While noting that the U.S. remained a close ally of Liberia, Toner urged all Liberia’s past and present leaders to embrace patriotism and stand up for the unity of the country, against all odds.
“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,” Ambassador Toner said.
Also speaking on the issue, Member, Liberian delegation to ECOWAS Parliament, Rep Taa Wongbe (Nimba County representative), described the crisis as a litmus test for the rule of law in Africa.
The lawmaker said that the stakeholders’ ability to promptly nip the crisis in the bud would be symbolic of their respect for the intervention of ECOWAS and its leaders in the looming crisis.
According to him, the majority bloc’s attempt to circumvent due process and illegally remove a legitimate speaker, is an attempt to plunge Liberia back into lawlessness and hold the country hostage.
“Liberia is a case study for why we need ECOWAS, having benefited from the humanitarian and peacekeeping interventions of the subregional body in the past.
“It is, therefore, unfortunate that any group would seek to undermine the constitution and due process, especially after the ECOWAS Parliamentary Diplomacy efforts, and against the background of democratic reversals in other parts of West Africa.
“The Rule of Law must prevail and our international partners are now speaking that language too,” he said.
Another Liberian lawmaker, Rep Musa Bility (Nimba County), describes the speakership tussle as a “dangerous, disruptive and treacherous coup against Liberia’s democracy.”
Bility called on the country’s President Boakai, the Supreme Court, ECOWAS leaders and other stakeholders to intervene with a view to promptly resolve the legislative leadership debacle.
“I am calling on every Liberian, whether it is President Boakai or former President Weah to intervene.
“ECOWAS and the international community should see the manner in which our democracy is eroding and help us to preserve it.
“It is high time the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter of justice, made the right decision, and end the House stalemate so as to avoid an escalation of the crisis,” he said in a podcast.
The Liberian Parliament’s leadership tug-of-war has no doubt created a stalemate that threatens the country’s ability to function, as it is increasingly causing unease within President Boakai’s government, just as it goes without saying that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers.
For instance, since October, when President Boakai attempted to submit the 2025 budget to the legislature and it was met with resistance from the lawmakers from both factions, the appropriation bill has remained in a quandary, as the President has yet to submit it to date.
The House of Representatives, which is the lower chamber, is responsible for passing bills, in conjunction with the upper chamber, the Senate, before they are sent to the country’s president for final assent.
Liberia’s Minister of Information, Jerolinmek Piah, said the delay in the budget process caused by the crisis, was already stalling critical government functions, pressing national issues and fulfilling budgetary priorities.
“Several audit reports requiring legislative hearings and decisions have been filed, but these processes have been suspended,” he said.
“At a broader level, this conflict reflects a significant lack of trust among Liberia’s governing political elites,” Aaron Weah, head of the Monrovia-based Ducor Institute for Social and Economic Research, told The Africa Report.
According to Julius Jaesen, Managing Editor of Democracy Watch, the Liberian electorate has become disillusioned due to the crisis because the expectations of the House are being sidelined by political maneuvering.
He said that if the legislative quagmire was allowed to escalate into a prolonged stalemate, the nation risked witnessing an erosion of the legislature’s constitutional role.
This, he said, could potentially lead to executive overreach, as the president or other entities may step in to fill the power vacuum left by an incapacitated House.
“In the worst-case scenario, this situation could lead to calls for the dissolution of the House or force the President to enact laws, including the national budget, through executive orders,” he said.
Observers of the unfolding political scenario in Liberia posit that the situation requires a quick, critical reflection by all sides toward an amicable resolution, stressing that the supremacy of the rule of law is essential and must prevail.
They implore President Boakai, who is being accused by the minority CDC of subtly interfering with the legislature and attempting to establish a one-party-dominant state, to act prudently and tread carefully.
ECOWAS leaders are also urged to prevail on President Boakai and other stakeholders in the Liberian imbroglio to end the impasse, especially against the backdrop of recent reversals of democracy through unconstitutional change of government across the sub-region.
By Mark Longyen
