Former Maryland County Senator John Ballout says the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) has thrown away a golden opportunity by its failure to address internal hatred which has become difficult to dialogue later, antagonism that broke up the once formidable opposition bloc and turning over Mr. Alexander B. Cummings to the government for trial.
“Now Alexander Cummings is going with his ANC, a whole lot of them have been in court, you are not strengthening the love, you’re deepening the hate, you’re deepening the suspicion, the antagonism. You’re making it worse, you’re making [it] even more difficult to dialogue later,” Mr. Ballout said Tuesday, 22 February 2022 on local broadcaster OK FM.
He argued that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government has been waiting for an opportunity to disintegrate the CPP because this opposition bloc “has been the greatest threat to the CDC government.”
The standard bearer of the former ruling Unity Party (UP) recently announced that he was pulling out his party from the CPP, months after another constituent party, All Liberian Party (ALP) of businessman Benoni Urey, did the same.
Liberty Party (LP), another CPP constituent party is divided into two factions, one in support of Cummings and his Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the other faction loyal to Senator Nyonblee Karnga – Lawrence.
According to Ballout, the CPP got involved in the elections in Montserrado County, once considered the CDC stronghold, and won against the CDC twice.
Ballout noted that this could not have happened easily in the county and the CDC government could not understand what kind of political machinery would come and defeat the ruling establishment twice in the space of one year.
He thinks this was enough indication that this formula – a united CPP – is working and it should be kept that way because the team that has won all of your victories you don’t change it when going to the final.
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“To break away from that is to reduce our chances; to unite the CPP is to increase our chances. Simple Mathematics that can be translated even into political science,” said Ballout.
Ballout described as “the happiest gift” to the government even before Christmas, the CPP’s decision to turn over Cummings for prosecution.
“Look at what’s happening now, how far it has gone. You sent Alexander Cummings to the government. You’ve given Alexander Cummings to the government on a civil platter,” said Mr. Ballout.
He admitted that Cummings has been difficult and has turned down a suggestion to run as vice to former Liberian Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
However, he said instead of walking out of the CPP, Mr. Boakai needed to try to fix the CPP because it is an organ that he needs to support him in the first round of the elections.
He said they have tried to find so many ways in establishing who’s going to be the CPP standard bearer and it was difficult for them to agree to any of the available options, but to think that Boakai can go without anybody is a big mistake.
He believes that the Unity Party is going back to where it was in 2017, saying it was alone – it had the All Liberian Party (ALP), and half of the Liberty Party, and that’s where it is today.
“If you go with your CPP, the CPP that made that miracle happen in Montserrado twice, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand that,” he said.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/emotional-error-ballout-describes-boakais-withdrawal-from-cpp/
