Liberia: Deputy Speaker Faces Loyalty Challenge

As majority members of the House of Representatives opposed to Speaker J. Fonati Koffa go to elect new leadership today, Thursday, 24 October, public curiosity increases about whether Deputy Speaker Thomas F. Fallah, who hails from the same CDC, will join his colleagues to remove the Speaker.

Already, rebel lawmakers, who have grouped themselves as "Majority Bloc," have been calling on Representative Fallah to join them in their struggle to oust Speaker Koffa.

They have accused the Speaker of a conflict of interest, among other things, and expressed a vote of no confidence in him, which must be demonstrated legally by a two-thirds vote or 49 members of the House, as required by the Constitution of Liberia.

Deputy Speaker Fallah has stood with the embattled Speaker up to now, but how long will he keep holding on when every indication seems to show that the coup plotters are resolved on their own plan?

Fallah appears to find himself in a predicament: He does not want to be seen publicly as betraying the Speaker. At the same time, he would not want to ignore his colleagues from the Majority Bloc, who are predominantly from the opposition Congress for Democratic Change.

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