By Ethel A. Tweh
Defeated Sinoe County Senator J. Milton Teahjay has endorsed opposition leader Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s presidential bid ahead of the 14 November run-off, claiming that the ruling party is ill-prepared.
Having lost his seat during last month’s polls, the outgoing Senator at a press conference Tuesday, 31 October 2023, expressed regrets for supporting the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) over the past nearly six years on Capitol Hill. He claimed that the CDC is ill-equipped to lead Liberia for another six years.
Teahjay explained that he dedicated six years of his political career assisting the CDC in fulfilling the mandate of the people of Sinoe County who he represented at the Legislature.
“Regrettably, after contributing to President Weah’s development agenda in the Legislature and observing the initial results of the 2023 elections, it is abundantly clear that the CDC is ill-equipped to lead this nation for the next six years,” Teahjay claimed.
He alleged that in the later years of the CDC administration, he held the premature hope that the government would have capitalized on the substantial gains made across various sectors under the UP government.
To his dismay, Teahjay said the CDC has not demonstrated a willingness to harness the crucial political capital it was entrusted with.
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He noted that it is disheartening to witness a government that rose on a populist platform lacking the trust, credibility, and the ability to bring together national political leaders to stabilize the country.
Teahjay said as a Senator and a prominent leader of Sinoe County, he has faithfully followed the mandates of his people over the past six years.
“The question that lingers now is: What have our people gained from their loyalty during these past six years?” Teahjay wondered.
“Currently, the southeastern counties are among the most neglected, impoverished, and destitute positions at an alarming rate, contributing to the dire state of the healthcare system in the southeastern region,” he continued.
Teahjay lamented that schools in the southeast lack basic supplies, with many instructors not receiving their salaries in a timely manner.
He stated that some junior high schools in the southeast have just two instructors, which is an affront to the loyalty of his people and a disgrace to their educational system.
Regarding the electoral infrastructure, he explained that elections are meant to adhere to the principle of one man, one vote.
However, the Sinoe Senator alleged that under the CDC government, elections seem to have deviated into a scenario of one man, five ballot papers.
He alleged that the October polls in the Southeast and other regions exposed a troubling pattern of election magistrates colluding with National Elections Commission (NEC) Presiding Officers and Election Supervisors to manipulate vote counts in favor of CDC Presidential and Legislative candidates.
“As we approach the November 14 runoff election and after extensive consultations, we have arrived at the conclusion of officially endorsing Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai, the Standard Bearer of the Unity Party,” he said.
Teahjay described Amb. Boakai as a statesman of immense patience, character, and the ability to lead Liberia while redirecting the course of governance for the benefit of all Liberians.
“We call upon all our fellow citizens of Sinoe County and all Liberians to join us in this mission,” he concluded.
Preferred neutrality as a nation’s lawmaker also fits the keyboard when that legislation is nationalistic.
It is a legislator’s representation of his own people that develops his county. The executive branch develops on the budget placed thereof from a national scope and has nothing to do with party affirmation. If you, as a legislative canvass, have interest in your people, your endorsement is collective on the voice of the people rather than on your personal political gimmick of south east pretending north west. It is time law makers at the capital be adhesive to county interest to boost the patriotic results sorted. This means that the hard earned peace up till the runoff in nationalistic. Not only proofered.