By Othello B. Garblah
Two constituent members of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) have written the National Elections Commission (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.
The move would block former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai and other candidates aspiring to contest on the Unity Party (UP) or the All Liberian Party (ALP) in the 2023 elections and six months after.
The two constituent members, Liberty Party and the Alternative National Congress of embattled Alexander B. Cummings are also seeking further clarification from NEC about the status of ALP and UP as it relates to their withdrawal from CPP because according to them, they only learned about this in the media and online interviews.
“While we have learned through the media and several online interviews of officers of both ALP and UP that both parties have withdrawn from the CPP and that both parties have informed the National Election Commission of the same, there has been no official communication from the ALP and UP to either the CPP National Executive Committee regarding said withdrawal. We have also learned that both parties have requested the commission to bar the use of their names and logos from the CPP logo.
As such: We are requesting that the Commission provide us with official status of ALP and UP as it relates to the CPP and requests that the Commission requires both ALP and UP to provide official communication to the CPP of their withdrawal and waiving any further rights with the CPP,” excerpts of the CPP letter dated March 21, 2022, read.
Both LP and ANC continued: “We call the Commission attention to Section 8.5(2) of the CPP framework document which prescribes the process by which a CPP constituent party may withdraw its membership from the CPP.”
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.”
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The parties say in lieu of the above they were informing NEC that they are invoking Section 8.5 (2) of the CPP framework document and requesting that the commission reject and deny any application from the ALP and UP to field candidates in their respective names in any election until the end of 2023 election including 6 months thereafter the same being the agreed contractual life of the CPP.
Established in 2020 with the signing of a legally binding framework document to unseat incumbent President George Weah in 2023, the CPP had been engulfed with internal bickering within constituent parties with allegations that these internal fights had been fuelled by leaders of other constituent parties within the CPP.
The ALP was the first to announce its withdrawal from the CPP. Following that pronouncement, legal action was filed against ANC Cummings for alleged forgery. While the case is still ongoing, former Vice President Joseph Boakai who was serving as the rotational chair of the CPP announced the UP withdrawal from the opposition bloc.
“The UP’s “withdrawal” has had the disruptive effect on the CPP including the group’s rotational chairmanship, rotational headquarters, rotations leadership of its various organs including secretariat and meetings to determine and evolve positions on national questions. This is because at the time of the so-called withdrawal the CPP rotational chair happened to have been the UP.” The CPP opined.
The LP and ANC also notified NEC in the same communication that they are seeking legal advice on how to proceed with moving the CPP forward and will revert to it with details in the shortest possible time.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/boakai-provides-more-defense-for-exiting-cpp/
