Editorial: We Hail The CDC Courage

The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), a key opposition political party here took a bold step over the weekend by hosting several political parties, including the governing Unity Party at its National Headquarters in Congo Town to discuss the country’s political future, a step that is worth noting. The gathering, dubbed political parties’ consultative forum, brought together the governing Unity Party, National Patriotic Party, National Democratic Coalition, National Union for Democratic Progress and the True Whig Party, amongst others to discuss the need for reform of the electoral laws and the Constitution of Liberia as well as fraud suspicions during elections.

The forum was presided over by the Chairman of the Governance Commission, Dr. Amos Sawyer and the Chairman of the Liberia Law Reform Commission, Prof. Jallah Barpu with CDC Secretary General Nathaniel McGill and executive member Samuel Tweh serving as moderators.

The event demonstrates a major plus for the CDC and we say hats off to the party for embarking on a path that is poised to no doubt, place it in a position for political institutions to look up to for advice and direction. We like to remind the CDC leadership that by hosting other political parties, including the governing Unity Party at its headquarters to dialogue on our country’s future places them in an echelon of public expectation and respectability, which they must uphold.  

We are indeed moved by the development over the weekend because we believe strongly that it signals a redirection of the party’s posture on the way to addressing our political problems as a nation, particularly after over 14 years of bloody civil conflict that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of our fellow compatriots and devastated the state.

By this single step, the CDC is saying in essence that politics is about responsible leadership and love for country. CDCians should be reminded that losing elections twice does not mean the doors are closed for service. The party should therefore explore every and all avenues to demonstrate its full potential and maturity as a political entity, waiting to provide state governance. Such endeavors will go a very long in debunking the perception that the party is composed of group of thugs bent on fomenting chaos in society.

We challenge the George Weah-led leadership to initiate more of such engagements that will reduce unnecessary tensions in our country and consolidate the gains achieved since the end of our civil crisis in 2003. The CDC would have secured for itself an unchallenged path to national leadership if it continues to keep its doors open for constructive discussions on issues that affect our common patrimony in finding an amicable way out rather than erecting iron gates and raising clenched fist in expressing disagreement about our body politic.