By Othello B. Garblah
Behind the scenes, discussions are ongoing at the high level for a possible Boakai-Cummings ticket ahead of the 2023 general and presidential elections, Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Chairman Musa Bility told the New Dawn on Tuesday, February 21.
“There are ongoing discussions behind the scenes at the high-level for a possible collaboration. And when I say at the high-level, I mean between chairman to chairman,” Mr. Bility added.
According to him, the CPP’s position at these discussions is that all parties sit at a table to discuss and that nobody should come at the table with a predetermined outcome.
He explained that when all parties sit at the table, the discussions will be centered around the two positions that will be proffered. And based on those positions, they would select someone with a leadership quality and strength to lead the opposition and not just popularity.
Asked if there has been any initiative from Mr. Cummings to reach out to Mr. Boakai, Bility said yes. He explained that Cummings has reached out to Mr. Boakai asking him to lift his (Cummings) hand as a recognized leader of the opposition and he Boakai in return would name a vice running mate to Cummings.
He noted that that has been the CPP’s position but was quick to point out that the CPP is yet to know the UP’s position.
“So, we need to go at the table to sit and discuss; and we know there are two positions; then we can narrow down and discuss. This is politics anything is possible,” he said.
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Boakai’s Unity Party and Cummings’ Alternative National Congress (ANC) were both part of the CPP which included the Liberty Party and the All-Liberian Party of Businessman Benoni Urey.
The CPP in 2020 shocked the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) when it won Senatorial seats in counties that were once described as the ruling party stronghold.
But months later, the CPP collapsed as the ALP and UP pulled out along with a fragment of the Liberty Party. The relationship looked irreparable when ALP political leader and his Secretary General took Mr. Cummings to court for forgery.
Mr. Cummings was accused by Mr. Urey of allegedly tampering with the CPP’s framework document and illegally attaching his (Urey’s) signature to a photocopy version. Cummings has always denied any wrongdoing.
In that trial, Mr. Boakai who was then chairing the CPP at the beginning of the case testified against Mr. Cummings on behalf of the Liberian Government.
During his testimony, Boakai claimed that “The document before me is not the document that I signed on May 19, 2020. The document I signed was in its original form and not a photocopy with all the parties’ names in alphabetical order.”
His testimony against Cummings at the time suggested that the ANC’s leader, now CPP’s Standard Bearer, forged their signatures on another document purporting to be the CPP’s framework paper.
However, as things stand and as the date of the general elections draw nearer, the parties are beginning to realize that only a united opposition can defeat incumbent President George Weah.
This was echoed by the former Vice President in a recent interview with the Voice of America (VOA) when he stressed the need for a united opposition to defeat President Weah.
“We all need to see the need to rescue Liberia. This is not a matter of sitting on the fence. It’s a matter of getting together. People are suffering and so, doors are being opened to Prince Johnson and everybody to rescue Liberia from this nightmare,’’ said Amb. Boakai.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/boakais-admission/
