By Precious D. Freeman
The Unity Party has withdrawn its petition field against House Speaker, Fonati Koffa, at the Civil Law Court.
On Monday, January 15, 2024, the Executive Committee of the UP filed a six-count petition for Declaratory Judgement against Koffa, following a tightly-contested speaker election at the House of Representative.
The UP, in its petition, asserted that Speaker Koffa holds two passports, from Liberia and America, noting that he is not qualified to hold such position.
UP’s six-count petition declared that Koffa is not qualified to occupy an elected position under the law.
The UP stalwart submitted that it is a political party that won the presidential elections and the incoming government with legislative agenda to be pursued, and that its National Executive Committee, by a resolution, authorized the National Chairman and the Secretary General to institute the legal and other legal recourse to nullify Speaker Koffa’s election as Representative of District 2 of Grand Kru County.
Chapter 43 of lLCL Revised Section 43.1 provides that “courts of records within the respective jurisdictions shall have the power to declare rights, status, and other legal relations, whether or not further relief is or could be claimed…”
Also, section 43.2 of the Civil Procedure Law provides that any person interested under a deed, will, written contact, or other writing constituting a contract, or whose rights, status, or other legal relations, are affected by a statute, municipal ordinance, contract, or franchise, may have determined any question of construction or validity arising under the instrument, statute, ordinance, contract, or franchise, and obtain a declaration of rights status, or other legal relations thereunder.
Petitioner claimed that Article 4 sectional of the act provides that “A Liberian citizen who holds the citizenship of another country shall not be eligible for any elective public office while still a citizen of another country…”
The Petitioner submitted that Koffa is a citizen of the United States of America, holding a passport with number 489973788, issued on February 13, 2012.
