It appears that the current marriage among the four Collaborating Political Parties, including the former ruling Unity Party of ex-Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, the Liberty Party of Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, the Alternative National Congress of businessman turned-politician, Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings and the All Liberian Party of businessman Benoni Urey is shaky, as constituent parties jostle for the standard bearer post, ahead of 2023.
Unlike the marriage that brought the Congress for Democratic Change under a three-party coalition with George Manneh Weah as standard, the CPP is confronting with a power-sharing leaderhip with loose ambition for the presidency.
The Congress for Democratic Change was definite and crystal clear about positions, structural engagement and policies leading to the 2017 Presidential election, unlike the Unity Party that had won two successive presidential elections and significant number of legislatives seats.
The UP is an institution member of the CPP, but it did not push for positions and structural control; instead, the Unity Party is ready to gamble with the remaining three political parties for the standard bearer post.
The former ruling party is reportedly retaining its ex-standard bearer Joseph Nyumah Boakai for the pending 2023 presidential race, while the ANC leader Mr. Cummings is firmly determined to head the CPP’s presidential ticket, meaning the two political leaders could battle each other at various levels, including the none voters perception survey and at primary. On the other hand, the Liberty Party of fallen politician, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine has held its regular third place in three successive presidential elections.
For the record, the ANC has only participated in one presidential election and came fifth place among 21 political parties. Appallingly, it failed to win a legislative seat unlike the UP that took second place and won several legislative seats both in the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate.Already, both UP and ANC have taken to the social media attacking each other’s political leader.
The CPP constitution under Article 11.1- eligibility for contesting says: a person interested in vying for the nomination as a candidate for the presidency of Liberia or legislative seat shall meet all legal requirements, including constitutional, statutory as well as the CPP’s rules and deregulation appertaining thereto, no person interested in vying for any electoral seat on the ticket of the alliance shall be allowed.
Section 11.2 Mechanism for selecting candidates: the CPP recognizes that political parties are organized along different political interest and ideological, the revolution, maturity, stabilization require the harmonization, accommodation of the various interests of the group members.
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Section 11.3 naming presidential ticket, the consequent political parties shall endeavor to reach the consensus in selecting the CPP presidential ticket. The presidential aspirant of the constituents political parties has up to and including Wednesday, December 01, 2021, to anonymously decide and name the CPP/ alliance’s presidential ticket, including naming a vice presidential running mate. In the event no consensus is reached the nomination process shall proceed to none binding voter’s perception survey (VPS), and be determined at the primaries.
But the Unity Party, no doubt one of the biggest parties in the CPP, is now ready to politically gamble for the standard bearer, after it came second in the 2017 presidential race.
By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor–Editing by Jonathan Browne
