By Lewis S. Teh
Barely 43 days to the October 10th elections, sixteen (16) opposition parties here have signed a pact to protect and safeguard their votes during the polls.
Speaking on Monday, August 28, 2023, during the signing ceremony, lead organizer and Presidential Candidate for the opposition African Liberation League (ALL), Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, said it has been her vision for the opposition bloc to unite under one umbrella to protect and safeguard the Liberian people’s votes.
Madam Nyanti, former UN Resident Coordinator to Sudan, stresses that poll-watching is a critical element of the electoral process, so members of the opposition need to collaborate and maximize resources that will give the electorate confidence on polling day that those they cast their ballots for are on the watch for their votes.
“Nobody wants to vote and feels that their vote won’t matter, and this is also meant for the Liberian people to have confidence in the electoral process; these are steps we have taken in that direction”, she explains.
She revealed after birthing the vision, she immediately communicated with all opposition parties and 12 of the parties attended the initial meeting, adding “Today, we have sixteen in attendance for this signing ceremony, Eleven of the parties have signed while the reminder six will do their signing later.”
According to the only female candidate among a total of 20 candidates in the race for the Presidency, the idea is for the opposition bloc to unite despite fighting amongst themselves, saying “We have to find a way to unite and protect and safeguard the votes of the Liberian people.”
She says though there are disagreements on some things as they compete politically, the need to safeguard the Liberian people’s votes is paramount.
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“It’s time for every citizen to express joy over this collaboration, because the more we unite, the less we will avoid chaos, and the more you find strength in unity, the better you are in terms of sustaining the peace.”
She further reveals that they have agreed to form a secretariat with one member from each political party that will prepare a framework, noting there’s still a lot to be done in actualizing the dream.
Former female presidential candidate standard bearer for Movement for One Liberia, Macdella Cooper, says it is very important that they fight to protect their votes and it’s incumbent upon the opposition to protect and safeguard their votes.
“This government is trying everything possible to steal the results and we can’t allow this to happen; if we must redeem this country from the hands of these unfit people then it’s time that we act quickly”, Ms Cooper urges.
The chairman of the former ruling Unity Party, Rev. Luther Tarpeh, extols Madam Nyanti and her team for organizing and initiating the process leading to the signing of the MOU.
He describes the signing ceremony as historic moment for the opposition bloc, saying
“This is a historic moment for us as opposition; Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai would have loved to be here, but he’s gone to Accra for a business purpose, and he had asked me to convey his sentiment to this process.”
For his part, the standard bearer of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, describes the initiative as a brilliant idea aimed at uniting the opposition, stressing that this is the period to collaborate instead of competing against themselves.
Mr. Cummings: “I also want to publicly remind President Weah that it is his responsibility to ensure a free, fair, and transparent election; he has the constitutional obligation to that.
He has all of the state apparatus; he has control over the NEC and subsequently their appointment and ultimately, it his responsibility to make sure that this election is free and fair.”
The CPP candidate further underscores the need for the opposition to verify if the pending elections will be free, and to do so they must collaborate with a common goal to unseat President Weah.
Opposition parties that were in attendance and affixed their signatures to the MOU include the African Liberation League, Collaborating Political Parties, Democratic People Party, Liberian People’s Party, Liberia Restoration Party, Movement for One Liberia, New Liberia Party, Reformer National Congress, The People Party, and Vision for Liberia Transformation, among others. Editing by Jonathan Browne
