The Liberian Senate has constituted a five-member committee to mediate between rival factions of the House of Representatives. The Senate set up the committee following Thursday’s session at a consultative meeting.
Those appointed to the committee are former Pro-Tempore and now Grand Bassa County Senator, Gbehzohngar Findley, Chairman; Willington Geevon Smith, Rivercess County; Thomas Yaya Nimely, Grand Gedeh County; Gbleh Bo Brown, Maryland County; and Dabah Varpilah, Grand Cape Mount County.
The committee is tasked with mediating between the two parties in the lower House and advancing a way forward.
But in the wake of such development, the embattled Speaker of the House, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, has vowed to invoke Article 33 of the Constitution and involve the Supreme Court in the matter.
Article 33 states, “Simple majority of each House shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a lower number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members. Whenever the House of Representatives and the Senate shall meet in joint session, the presiding officer of the House of Representatives shall preside.”
Speaker Koffa’s decision to invite the Supreme Court in the matter stems from what he considered the deliberate refusal of his colleagues to “attend” session, which has obstructed the House of Representatives from carrying out its function over the last one week.
According to information, Cllr. Koffa is expected to petition the court for a writ of mandamus. According to Hot Pepper’s legal pundit, a writ of mandamus is an order from a court for an official of government to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.
According to the legal luminary, this writ may be capable of calling the lawmakers to order or, at least, attend Speaker Koffa’s session to express their disagreements and man up to settle their differences or boot him out as they have planned.
However, the pundit said, if the lawmakers fail to heed the Supreme Court’s order and insist on not sitting under the Speaker’s gavel, after a certain period of time he could declare all the absent representative’s seats vacant to the National Elections Commission (NEC), since they are not showing up for session, and request the NEC to conduct by-elections for the seats.
But on the other hand, the rebelling majority bloc of the House has maintained their resolve to have Speaker Koffa ousted. During their Thursday’s sitting in the Joint Chambers of the National Legislature, they said they have taken notice of Deputy Speaker Thomas Fallah’s reluctance to answer to their call, which requested that he be present in their Thursday sitting. They extended the request to him, as well as the request for the Chief Clerk, Mildred Sayon, and her clerical staff, to appear before them no later than Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
They warned that failure on the part of Deputy Speaker Fallah to appear on Tuesday will leave them with no alternative but to declare his position vacant and elect a “Speaker Pro-tempore”, according to the House’s Standing Rules.
