West Africa: In House Crisis – Ecowas to Pick Where Supreme Court Fails
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament says its mediators are due to undertake a mediation mission in Monrovia to resolve a political crisis that has stalled legislative functions for over a month.
The ECOWAS Parliament has announced that it dispatched a mediation delegation to Monrovia following a longstanding political stand-off between embattled House Speaker Fonati Koffa and 43 rebel lawmakers.
The rebel lawmakers are seeking Koffa’s removal after he announced plans to institute some levels of transparency, including an audit of the House of Representatives.
While the rebel lawmakers failed to obtain the required 49 members to oust Speaker Koffa, they succeeded in stalling legislative functions by holding separate meetings away from the Chambers on session days.
The Speaker and his bloc of 30 lawmakers continue to adjourn each session day because there are not 37 Representatives needed to conduct legislative business.
The conflict among the members of the House of Representatives has forced President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to suspend the submission of the draft National Budget for the second time as he seeks expert advice on the crisis.
Over the decades, the Legislature has shielded itself from transparency efforts, and efforts to change the notorious tradition need political and legal backing.
Liberia’s Supreme Court has urged the lawmakers to settle the political crisis politically.
In a communication dated 8 November 2024, the ECOWAS Parliament said the regional bloc seeks an immediate parliamentary resolution to the crisis based on the fragility in the House of Representatives.
“It is in this regard that the ECOWAS Parliament wishes to undertake a parliamentary mediation mission to Monrovia from 11 … November 2024,” a communication addressed to House Speaker Fonati Koffa said.
The objectives of the five-member mediation mission include gathering the root causes of this impasse at the Liberian House of Representatives and its implications on the stability of the member state.
The objectives include engaging with stakeholders to resolve this impasse peacefully.
Additionally, the objectives include proposing concrete recommendations to the ECOWAS Authority, the Liberian Authorities, and all stakeholders to maintain political stability and cohesion among the members.
By New Dawn.
