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CPP hails NEC decision

The remainder parties within the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) have welcomed the decision by the National Election Commission (NEC) to refer the former ruling Unity Party to the Supreme Court to decide on whether it can field a candidate in Lofa or not.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Mr. Alexander B. Cummings who by default is now chair of the CPP said the ruling represents an important victory for the CPP and the Liberian people.

“Even at this level of consideration, and aware that the ruling is now a subject of an appeal, it still represents an important victory for the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), and the Liberian people”, he was quoted to have said.

“We cannot do the same things over and over, and still hope to get a different result. It is time to change so that leaders are held to higher standards of public accountability, and we act to preserve the rule of law.” Cummings explained.

“It was impossible to ignore the wholly false and deceptive representation to the NEC that the Unity Party (UP) and the All Liberian Party (ALP) “did not sign” the Framework Agreement of the CPP, cannot, therefore, be bound by its provisions, and that the framework document was a “product of fraud,” he added.

He further explained that the CPP’s “silence and inaction would have represented this falsehood to be true, to both the NEC and the Liberian people, when not only do we know this to be misleading, but those who made such claims knew them to be false.”

“The Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the Liberty Party (LP) were therefore forced into a public challenge of the UP and the ALP, which ordinarily we would have decided against doing,” Cummings added.

Cummings stated that the CPP is “mindful of not deepening the distrust and disunity in the opposition community, which will only benefit President Weah, whose administration has irredeemably failed the Liberian people.”

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According to the Statement, Cummings is hopeful that the alternative to the failed leadership of President Weah, which the opposition seeks to provide the Liberian people, would be one of honesty, to be measured by truth-telling, however difficult it may be.

It said the CPP remains “convinced that is how we will build the new future for our country that we seek – a future of commitment to the rule of law, and away from the ongoing political corruption and thievery that have bedeviled our country for far too long.”

The statement in further welcoming the ruling congratulated the efforts of the leaderships of the Liberty Party and the ANC for the uncommon courage to call out and challenge the falsehood of the UP and ALP.

“We do not fear contesting against anyone for a chance to lead our people. Liberians must freely and fairly decide who should lead them. That is how democracy ought to work. We will therefore fight untiringly to see that this happens,” the Statement indicated; adding: “But we also have a leadership duty, which cannot allow us to be an accomplice to deceiving the Liberian people either by falsehoods or by breaking promises, in the name of politics.”

“I, Alexander B. Cummings, do not need to acquire political power by dishonor or deception. Even more importantly, I do not need to lead our people if it will not significantly change our country by uniting all of our people, ending the stealing by public officials, providing opportunities so that all Liberians have a chance to succeed in their own country, and remaking our society into a more just, equitable, secure and prosperous one,” the Special Statement of the Presumptive Standard Bearer of the CPP concluded.

The two parties-Liberty Party and the ANC last month wrote the NEC informing it of their resolve to invoke Section 8.5 (2) of the CPP framework document which prescribes the process by which a party can withdraw from the collaboration.

Section 8.5 (2) of the CPP document states: “Constituent party desiring to withdraw its membership from the Collaboration Political Parties shall (First) exhausts the dispute resolution mechanism stipulated in this framework document. If the constituent party which has satisfied the dispute mechanism is not satisfied with the outcome, it shall file a resolution to withdraw from the CPP signed and duly executed by two-thirds (2/3) of membership of its National Executive Committee. It being understood that a party withdrawing from the alliance prior to the next presidential, legislative and local elections shall not field candidates in its name.”

The LP and the ANC which now comprises the CPP argued that the UP and the All Liberian Party of Benoni Urey did not follow these procedures and therefore, should not field any candidate with the Lofa by-election.

But the UP has continued to counter-argue that it has since announced its withdrawal from the CPP and thus cannot be held by its rules.

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