The National Executive Committee of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has endorsed the candidacy of Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa over Representative Thomas Fallah for the speakership position in the 55th National Legislature.
The disclosure was made by the National Chairman of the CDC, Mulbah K. Morlu, and comes at the time two of the party’s executives, Representatives Fallah and Cllr. Koffa, are eying the chief administrator seat of the Legislature.
Fallah is the current Representative of Montserrado County’s electoral district #5 but was re-elected in Lofa County’s electoral district #1 on CDC’s ticket during the October 10, 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
On the other hand, Cllr. Koffa, current lawmaker for Grand Kru County’s electoral district #2 and Deputy House Speaker of the 54th National Legislature, was re-elected to the post on the CDC ticket as well during the October 10, 2023 polls.
However, at a major news conference Friday, December 1, 2023 at the CDC headquarters in Congo Town, Morlu said the party’s decision follows extensive internal consultations between its National Executive Committee and its legislative caucus.
“The party has concluded that, given the thin nature of the election returns, a balanced government regionally and politically is in the best interest of the Liberian people,” Chairman Morlu observed.
According to Morlu, the party intends to support its caucus’ quest for the speaker position and, therefore, endorsed the candidacy of the Deputy Speaker as its sole candidate, describing him as a well-balanced political and regional partisan.
At the same time, Mulbah K. Morlu has called on independents and like-minded members of the in-coming 55th Legislature to support Cllr. Koffa as the consensus candidate.
When contacted via WhatsApp chat for his reaction to his preference by his political party, Cllr. Koffa termed it as a consensus leadership with a bipartisanship focus, while his colleague and fellow partisan Thomas Fallah is yet to comment on the CDC decision.