Welcoming CDC chairman’s intervention, but

In accordance with the guidelines of the National Elections Commission or NEC for the 2014 Special Senatorial election, party primaries are being conducted across the country. Notably among the latest primaries are those of the mean opposition Congress for Democratic Change or CDC. Recently, the party concluded its primaries at three venues- Gbarnga, Bong County, Harper, Maryland County and Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.

As it is always anticipated, such events are usually punctuated by distractions which, at times, result to major conflicts, if such events are not guided by the principles of sincerity and institutional integrity, through those charged with the responsibility of ensuring and upholding such principles. While our intention is not to denigrate the Congress for Democratic Change or CDC in any manner or form, it is also important to note that the path on which the party recently held its primaries has attracted our attention considering its name-Congress for Democratic Change.

It has been reported in Monrovia that at two of the three venues in Harper, Maryland County and Cestos in Rivercess County, there were protests over claims of fake results announced by party officials conducting the primaries, which favored Representative Bhofal Chambers over Jimmy Anderson and Cllr. Teplah Reeves over the United States-based fund-raiser, Emmanuel Toe.

While we may not want to delve into the entirety of what may have transpired at those venues, we strongly believe that such negative misrepresentations do not speak well of the democratic nature of a “Government-in-waiting.”  Moreover, it doesn’t only create skepticisms and apprehensions among other well-meaning partisans and stalwarts, but discourages would-be potential CDCians from attaining the party’s membership.

We do recalled the violence which characterized the party’s last convention held in the City of Tubmanburg, Bomi County as the result of reported manipulations aimed at the selection of favored party officials. The violence, which drove most of the party stalwarts from the convention’s Tubmanburg venue, resulted to a split with partisans chased out of Bomi breaking away into another political party now referred to as the Alternative National Congress or ANC.

Many are of the fervent belief that as the largest and most populous political party in Liberia, the CDC must graduate from the politics of personal interest and violence to a true representation of its political size (largest and most populous political party in Liberia) to further attract well-meaning Liberians already sitting on fence in anticipation of such transformation. And no doubt, that would require the placement of more politically experienced partisans in party positions to represent the true image of the institution and its political leader.

While Chairman George Solo’s mature intervention must be warmly welcomed despite his injury from a tragic motor accident while on his way to the Buchanan primaries, his assurance that counties with problems arising out of results would be investigated by the executive committee must not just be a mere political charade to drive away public interest in the matter.

In view of the foregoing, Chairman Solo and team must also ensure measures that would discourage undesirable party executives and stalwarts from creating a negative image of the CDC in the eyes of the public. The CDC must also understand that for a political institution to move forward, the few who intentionally attempt to keep the party at bay must be silenced to attract more partisans as politics is about numbers.