-- Says the rule of laws should be followed
Former Nimba Senator Thomas S. Grupee has reacted strongly to the ongoing speakership standoff at the 55th House of Representatives of the Republic of Liberia, calling on all parties, specially the so called majority bloc to follow the rules of laws.
He described the ongoing saga as 'troubling' and not good for our democracy. He cautioned the nation in general to respect the law.
"The recent standoff at the Capitol between our lawmakers, especially at the level of the House of Representatives is troubling and not good for our democracy," he said.
"As a nation," he added, "we must respect the rule of law, the constitution must be observed and respected at all times."
Quoting the constitution, he said, "The Law is the Law and Article 49 of the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia states unambiguously that "the House of Representative shall elect once every six years a Speaker who shall be the presiding officer of that body, a Deputy Speaker, and such other officers as shall ensure the proper functioning of the House."
"The Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and other officers so elected may be removed from office for cause by resolution of a two-thirds majority of the members of the House," he said.
Speaking to the Daily Observer via messenger, the former lawmaker explained that this provision of the Constitution is unambiguous, and you don't have to be a lawyer to understand the interpretation of this Article.
"The Speaker was elected by a majority of the members of that body for six years; if for any reason or reasons that is considered a misconduct or a violation of the laws, he shall be removed from office by a resolution signed by a two-thirds majority of the members of that body," he noted.
"Do your math; two-thirds % of 73 equals 49 and you need 49 lawmakers' signatures and physically present at the session to remove the Speaker, that is consistent with Article 49 of the Constitution", he noted.
The Constitution also said that the Speaker shall be the presiding officer. He remains the presiding officer until is legally removed from office, consistent with Article 49.
"As a former lawmaker, in keeping with the Senate rules, which I believe is the same with the Houses rules, a motion of a simple majority of the members present or in attendance at a legislative session can ask the presiding officer to recuse himself from presiding on a specific item that borders his interests," he said.
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"Let me state here equivocally that Legislative majorities are determined by rules of law, that is there are either simple majority, absolute majority, two-thirds majority, etc,' he said.
Former Grupee concluded by saying, ' let's obey the law to resolve this stalemate, let the majority block go back to their legal regulate chamber; consistent with Legislative practices, the first business on the agenda is the roll call; after the roll call, a motion could be made by any member of the body, this motion is not debatable, a vote of simple majority, the Speaker who is presiding officer will recuse himself from presiding and the next in line of leadership will preside," he said.
There have been several discussions or arguments across street corners in Nimba about the ongoing stalemate at the Capital, with some, especially local government leaders backing the so-called majority bloc, while some argued that any process to remove the speaker should be inline with the law, not by mere hatred.
Nimba has about 9 representatives in the 55th House of Representative, with seven forming part of the majority bloc, while the other two are backing the embattled speaker Koffa.
Former Senator Thomas S. Grupee served Nimba County as senator from 2012 to 2020, when he was removed through the special senatorial election in 2020 by Jeremiah K. Koung.
Under the CDC leadership, he was appointed as a member of the board of ArcelorMittal - Liberia Board of Trustees, the position he served up to this Unity Party regime of President Joseph N. Boakai.
