-Whips Musa Bility at Speakership Election As Supporters Jubilate for Victory
The dust of bickering over the Speakership of the House of Representatives in the National Legislature, has finally settled as Montserrado County Representative Richard N. Koon was elected Speaker by 43 to 26, a margin of 17 votes as announced after the process. As Bill Jarkloh reports, this victory achieved by Koon, formerly Speaker for the Majority Bloc in the House laid to rest the confusion over his legitimacy since the rulings by the Supreme Court of Liberian declaring him illegitimate
Speaker-elect Koon went in the ring with the Rule of Law Caucus (or Minority Bloc) Chairman Musa Hassan Bility from the faction of former Speaker, Grand Kru County Representative J. Fonati Koffa who resigned yesterday, May 12, 2025.
The Speaker- elect, a partisan of the governing Unity Party, was escorted to the Capitol Building for the elections with dozens of supporters wearing white T-sheets with inscription on the front “The Law Is the Law”, most of whom are obviously Unity Partisans.
Speaker Koon had earlier dropped his claim to the speakership amid criticisms that he is an illegitimate Speaker who had flouted Supreme Court Judgment on the impasse that permeated the Lower House which had posed threat to the governance of the country. His backing off then followed the resignation of Speaker Koffa who was acclaimed the Constitutional Speaker.
An insider told this outlet that Koon resigned as the Majority Bloc leader because his bloc sees the opportunity to legitimize its leadership of the National Legislature at the resignation of embattled Speaker, since it (Majority Bloc) has had the Quorum from time to time of the legislative impasse.
Legislative sources hinted to the GNN that the Minority is fielding Nimba County Representative Musa Hassan Bility and Montserrado County Representative Richard N. Koon. It was said that both men encamped with their followers on Monday night, May 12, to secure a win.
It was reported that Richard Koon had gone to the speakership election with more members of the House while Musa Bility who was initially known to have had 28 members in his Rule of Law bloc camped with 30 members.
Richard Koon, a n accounting lecturer at the University of Liberia, has been keeping his Majority Bloc together ensuring that they squeeze Speaker Koffa out from the Speakership and parliamentarily the Minority Bloc the position.
Koon as the Speaker for the Majority successfully sanctioned members of the Minority Bloc with suspension and seizure of their financial benefits for not coming under his gavel. Rep. Koon became very influential and has commended the support of the members of the Majority Bloc, and stood out prominently in the governance process while also commanding the cooperation of the Executive Branch and the Upper House of Legislature, the Senate, which was of course criticized.
With this latest development, however, the legislative impasse involving the majority and the minority blocs at the House of Representatives is a history as leaders of both sides have dropped their claims to the leadership of the lower chamber of the National Legislature, and have together elected a single Constitutionally recognized Speaker.