By Lincoln G. Peters
Opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Alexander B. Cummings has strongly frowned and rejected former ruling Unity Party’s proposed bloc voting for constituent parties to select a trusted person to represent the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) ahead of the 2023 general and presidential elections.
The CPP is a conglomeration of Unity Party (UP) of former Liberian Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Mr. Cummings’ ANC, Grand Bassa Senator Nyonblee Karnga – Lawrence’s Liberty Party (LP), and businessman Benoni Urey’s All Liberian Party (ALP).
Speaking recently at the ANC’s new party headquarters at Catholic Junction, Old Road, Mr. Cummings who and Mr. Boakai has been intensely battling internally for the CPP presidential ticket, blasted that the UP’s bloc voting proposal is unconstitutional, undemocratic and breaches CPP’s Framework Document.
“This proposal is senseless and those advocating and proposing it should understand that it silences the voice of others, therefore, we reject it and call on the CPP never accept such undemocratic proposal,” said Mr. Cummings.
“The CPP document calls for Consensus, Voter Perceptions Survey and Convention which we think [are] the more transparent, credible, in helping us to get the trusted person to represent us,” he added.
Cummings said he agrees that 310 delegates each according to the framework document, [are] to vote in the convention process, and therefore urged that the CPP sticks to the framework document and stop speculating and want to damage the law.
He suggested that the bloc voting advocated by the UP is a complete sign of weakness and vulnerability, and clearly indicates that the bloc voting advocates do not trust that their own delegates would vote for them in any process.
He cautioned that Liberia’s democracy is very young and it is making progress gradually, thus, any decision by the CPP to engage in bloc voting as it has been proposed by the UP will have the propensity of taking Liberia to the dark days.
“Liberia is still struggling in maintaining its democracy because it’s still young and fragile. We should keep on the forward journey of this path instead of reintroducing systems that are [dictatorial] to the people,” Mr. Cummings warned.
He said the bloc voting process will silence majority of the people and prioritize a single person to represent them as a bloc, emphasizing that the ANC is seriously opposed to it and should never be given space in Liberia’s struggling democracy.
He claimed that the True Whig Party has fallen it dictated every decision, even though democracy calls for the will of the people.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/cummings-walks-out-of-cpp-meeting/—Edited by Winston W. Parley
