‘Opposition sensing early defeat’

By Lincoln G. Peters

The Government of Liberia says the opposition here is sensing its defeat ahead of the October 2023 presidential and legislative elections following a claim that the ruling party is doing early campaigning.

In an interview on the Voice of America’s DayBreak Africa Monday, 6 February 2023, Information Minister Ledgerhood Rennie accused opposition leader Alexander B. Cummings of crying wolf for no reason.

“How can the re-nomination … of President [George Manneh] Weah amount to any violation of the NEC [National Elections Commission] Law when in fact he didn’t call on his supporters to vote[for] him?” Mr. Rennie argued.

He contended that President Weah told the country that he will be running for the second term and so his supporters decided they will petition him.

On Saturday, 4 February 2023, supporters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change assembled at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS) to petition President Weah for his second term bid.

But following the event, members of the opposition as well as the Election Coordinating Committee (ECC) claimed that the political rally organized by the ruling party on 4 February 2023 was a campaign activity.

The NEC has set political campaigning for 5 August to 8 October 2023. For some time now there have been posters bearing President Weah’s photos on the streets of Monrovia with the caption ‘CDC one million rally.’

Mr. Cummings, political leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC)/Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) accused President Weah of engaging in an early election campaign outside the NEC timetable.

He claimed that this is because the Weah-led regime has done nothing for the Liberian people, and they have decided to make him a one-term president.

Cummings told the VOA Monday that they are looking at all the legal implications surrounding the alleged election violation that the CDC is engaged in and they may likely complain to the international community.

However, Minister Rennie bragged that Mr. Cummings is crying wolf as the opposition community is sensing defeat after seeing the crowd that turned out on Saturday in support of President Weah’s re-election.   

“I think Mr. Cummings is just playing defeat because of the awesome support that came for the President, not just in Monrovia but across the country,’’ Minister Rennie explained.

Rennie added that Cummings and other opposition leaders are accusing the CDC government falsely after seeing a massive turnout in favor of President Weah during CDC’s ‘one million rally.’

He said Cummings’s allegation is false and misleading, noting that President Weah does not violate the Elections Law of the country.

The Information Minister believes that if the CDC had violated the law, the NEC would have raised the concern.

The government chief spokesperson indicated that President Weah is on his way to re-election, and the support shown him on Saturday has left the opposition panicking.

“I don’t see anything like [a] violation. There is no campaign poster in the street; rather, it’s a poster to say come and support President Weah’s re-election,” Rennie insisted. 

“How does this amount to campaigning? It doesn’t amount to campaigning. It doesn’t state vote [for] President Weah, and if it does say that, it’s a whole different ball game.”