Gbarnga, Bong County – Ambassador Jeremiah Sulunteh, the vice standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), could be the kingmaker in Bong County during the run-off election.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Sulunteh’s ANC finished third in Bong County with 8, 369 or 5.5 percent, behind the Unity Party’s (UP) 51, 536, or 34.4 percent; and the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) 61, 525, or 40.6 per cent of the votes.
Both the CDC and UP are courting Sulunteh for the runoff.
On October 11, 2017, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, also vice standard bearer of the CDC, sent Sulunteh a text for his birthday.
It reads: “I hope and pray that God will strengthen you so you can see many birthdays to come. Hope we can work together in the near future.”
Senator Taylor told FrontPage Africa last week that she will begin discussions with Sulunteh to encourage him to support the CDC in the run-off election
“Sulunteh would be a significant addition to the CDC campaign in Bong County,” Taylor said.
“He is a respected person in Bong County that can do a lot for the CDC in Bong and Margibi counties.”
Before joining the CDC, Sulunteh, Liberia’s former ambassador to the United States of America, was an elite member of Unity Party.
In anticipation of the runoff, UP’s Bong County’s campaign manager Senator Henry Yallah, said that the party needs Sulunteh’s support.
The party, he said, is eager to mend fences with people who felt aggrieved by the party.
“We are on a mission to save Liberia, so we want to bring everyone under one umbrella,” he said.
“We have been discussing with chiefs of the county to persuade Ambassador Sulunteh to bring him back to the UP.”
Supporters of the CDC and UP are hoping that Sulunteh would join their ranks. Obe McCauley, 23, a first time voter and CDC supporter, is one of them.
Sulunteh has the ability to woo the young people to the CDC as he did for the ANC, McCauley said.
“The CDC is a youth-driven party and if we manage to convince Sulunteh, our youth base will increase by his presence,” he said.
Sulunteh’s presence on the campaign team of the CDC would help the party win Suakoko District, where the CDC lost to the ANC.
The ANC received 1,002 of the 2,016 registered voters in Suakoko District, followed the CDC with 612 votes and UP with 39 votes.
Simeon Talawalay, 31, agreed with McCauley that Sulunteh would boost the CDC’s leverage in Bong.
Though the CDC won Bong, the party needs to get a high percentage of the 201, 508 registered voters in the county.
During the Oct. 10 election, 163, 000 or 77.5 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls.
“Bong County is a crucial county and going into the runoff, we need people like Ambassador Sulunteh to help us greatly if we are to maintain or get more of what we got in the runoff,” Talawalay said.
Tarwoe Walonfa, 31, a UP member, said party leaders will do all they can to lure Sulunteh back to the party.
He pointed out that the ANC won Suakoko because of Sulunteh.
There are indications that Alexander Cummings, the standard bearer of the ANC, will remain neutral in the runoff, but it’s unclear whether Sulunteh will remain on the sidelines.
Sulunteh refused to comment on whether he will be neutral or support a candidate during the runoff.
“The ANC has not made any decision on who to support,” Sulunteh said Tuesday.
In addition to his political activities, Sulunteh has an auxiliary group called “Friends of Sulunteh.”
The group was established in 2008 to provide scholarships for underprivileged youth.
Support Independent Journalism
Your support helps FrontPage Africa continue delivering independent, credible, and impactful journalism. Every contribution strengthens our ability to investigate, inform, and hold power accountable while keeping quality journalism accessible to our readers.
Support our journalism or subscribe to receive the latest FrontPage Africa stories and updates.
