UP Youth, Women Congress wants party back down on decision

The Youth wing of the ruling Unity Party and its Women Congress have asked party officials to back down on their decision to bar government officials from contesting at ongoing elections at the county levels.

At a press conference held jointly by the Youth, Women Congress and the district leadership of Montserrado County, December 19, at the Unity Party’s national headquarters in Congo Town, Monrovia, the Chairman of the Youth Congress, Mr. Henry Yonquoi told journalists that the National Executive Committee or NEC of the Party have placed restrictions on presidential appointees not to contest ongoing elections at the counties convention.

Mr. Yonquoi said the move could be counterproductive for a party that is seeking its third term in the 2017 elections. He then called on the Party’s NEC to revert its decision as it has no constitutional backing nether does it makes excellent political sensibility.

He stressed that the decision tells them as party officials never to accept appointment jobs in government; and that the decision is divisive. The youth wing pointed out that the NEC of the party, particularly Chairman Wilmot Paye who was elected as the Party National Secretary General in 2010 was serving as an Assistant Minister when he was elected as national secretary general.

“The action of the chairman and the national executive committee has betrayed our confidence and may be restored it by reverting this decision.” Finally, let the National Executive Committee of the Party take note: Elections are won both on political and technical grounds. Therefore, if we make only political decisions without analyzing those technical issues that follow, trust us, UP will lost the 2017 elections. There will be no convention held in Montserrado if this decision is not reverted,” Mr. Yonquoi stated.

In July of this year Unity Party elected a new party leadership at the Unity Party’s National Convention held in Gbarnga Bong County to stair the affairs of the party for the next six year.

The first major task of the leadership is to conduct counties and districts convention which should have been held in September 2016. Nevertheless, on December 15, 2016 counties convention guidelines were placed on the Party’s bulletins and announcements made on radio stations by a County Convention Committee established by the party’s NEC and headed by Representative Clarence Massaquoi.
When the National Chairman of Unity Party, Mr. Wilmot Paye was contacted via mobile phone, he could not be reached his support staffers at the party’s headquarters said their boss had travelled in the leeward counties for the continuation of the counties convention.