Unity Party Political Alliance Slams Supreme Court’s Ruling in Lower House’s Leadership Impasse

Monrovia, Liberia: The ruling Unity Party's political alliance has taken an opposite stance to the Supreme Court's Wednesday, April 23, 2025, ruling in the Bill of Information filed by House Speaker Jonathan Fonati Koffa.

The UP Alliance characterized the high court’s opinion on the matter as a situation that has further complicated the prolonged leadership crisis instead of providing a legal pathway for an amicable resolution of the leadership impasse at the Lower House.

The Supreme Court of Liberia, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, handed down the much-anticipated ruling on the Bill of Information that emerged amidst the House of Representatives leadership impasse.

The Supreme Court, considered the final arbiter of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, reaffirmed Representative Jonathan Fonati Koffa of Grand Kru County Electoral District Two as the legitimate Speaker of the House of Representatives, subsequently declaring all proceedings of the self-proclaimed majority bloc led by Representative Richard Nagbe Koon of Montserrado County Electoral District Eleven as unconstitutional.

However, the UP's Alliance claimed the high court’s ruling, if enforced, has the propensity to paralyze the governance of the state and reverse national gains that have been made by the UP-led government through allotments in the 2025 fiscal year national budget, which was deliberated and passed by the so-called majority bloc.

Addressing a news conference on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at the Unity Party Headquarters in Central Monrovia, the Alliance Chairman, Gabriel Saydee, noted that the enforcement of the court’s ruling can only be determined by members of the House of Representatives and not by the executive branch of the government.

Saydee, who is the national chairman of the Liberia Restoration Party, a protégé political party of UP, stressed that the ruling is an indictment of the very Supreme Court on the grounds that the judiciary had already endorsed a budget hearing and has benefitted from allotments apportioned to the judiciary by the self-proclaimed Majority bloc, whose proceedings the court now rendered unconstitutional.

According to Saydee, the ruling risks plunging Liberia into the destabilization of key legislative actions, including allotments for increments in civil servants' salaries, government-World Bank loan agreements, and health and life insurance for police officers, among other gains that have gotten the government smoothly stirring the affairs of the country.

The government-backed political parties, which include the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, Liberia People Party, All Liberian Coalition Party, and Movement for One Liberia, have at the same time endorsed President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s decision to continue working with an available quorum for effective operations of the government.

UP Alliance, on the other hand, accused the Supreme Court of exercising judicial overreach, highlighting that the ruling blurred the line between judicial intervention and legislative independence.

"The Unity Party Alliance (UP-Alliance) expresses profound concern that the court’s recent ruling, instead of resolving the impasse, has further complicated the situation. If improperly enforced, the ruling threatens to paralyze governance, destabilize the legislature, and potentially undermine national peace and progress."

"Additionally, it is important to highlight that during the national budget hearings, the Supreme Court endorsed the participation of the judiciary’s financial team to advocate for a budgetary increase under the leadership of a speaker whom it and its allies now deem illegitimate. The Chief Justice authorized an increase in her salary, restoring it to pre-harmonization levels, and approved retroactive payments for each member of the Supreme Court bench",

"While we reaffirm our respect for the judiciary, we must express grave concern over the Supreme Court’s April 23rd ruling. The court’s decision has blurred the lines between judicial intervention and legislative independence, contrary to Part IV of the court’s own procedural rules, Chairman Gabriel Saydee intoned.

The UP Alliance of political parties has vowed to use constitutional orders and strongly resist any attempt by the opposition to ignite chaos over the President's decision to work with a quorum amidst the prevailing leadership crisis in the House of Representatives.

The Alliance’s caution comes on the heels of the opposition political parties, which include the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, the Alternative National Congress, the Movement for Economic Empowerment, and the Liberia People’s Party, which, on Friday, April 25, 2025, threatened to lead massive citizen actions against the government if President Boakai declines to clearly accept the ruling of the high court.

But in a sharp response, the UP Alliance reiterated its firm commitment to the leadership of President Boakai, vowing to protect the democratic gains made under the Unity Party-led government.

"The UP-Alliance urges all Liberians to remain vigilant against efforts to sow chaos and division. We call for calm, national unity, and constructive dialogue to resolve our political differences peacefully. We categorically reject any attempts to intimidate the government or derail Liberia’s development," Gabriel Saydee said.