WE CAN’T SAY for sure whether the present sticky issues that nearly derail the efforts of forming or merging the political parties comprising the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) have been totally resolved.
AN INSIDER OF THE CPP, comprising the former ruling Unity Party (UP) of former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai; Liberty Party (LP) of Senator Nyonblee K. Lawrence; Alternative National Congress (ANC) of Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings; and All Liberian Party (ALP) of Mr. Benoni W. Urey, had told us at FrontPageAfrica that they had tentatively agreed on one important sticky issue ahead of the 2023 Presidential and General Elections.
THE MAIN STICKING point surrounds a suggestion from the ANC regarding a Voter Perception Survey (VPS), which would gauge prospective voters’ perceptions on preferred candidates for the upcoming senatorial by-elections versus a primary elections process in which the best candidate is selected to represent the CPP.
THE ANC REPORTEDLY wanted to make the VPS part of the selection process, a move which was rejected by the other parties on the grounds that the main process prescribed by law is the primary.
EVEN THOUGH the parties’ negotiators out rightly didn’t agree to use the ANC’s suggested VPS, they will still, however, employ it to help parties and candidates drive their messages in the various counties. The VPS approach will also be used to “inform the process.”
WELL, SOME in the CPP still think that for the selection of a presidential candidate, who will go against President George Weah in 2023, the three-step approach, including Consensus, Voter Perception Survey (VPS) and Convention, should be used.
NOW, CPP IS DOING this way ahead of 2023 so as to give their standard bearer, who is expected to be in place by December 31st, 2021, enough time to go through the rigors of potential controversy and scrutiny and ample time, at least one or two years to deal with whatever fallouts. This is commendable!
LET’S FIRSTLY STATE that the disagreement before reaching this point among the parties drew a divide amongst the CPP; it dragged the finalization of the framework to put the collaboration into motion.
LET’S COMMEND and encourage them now to move past this point to affixing their signatures to the document that will announce them as one body and not four, separate political institutions but by one name that will be on the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) book.
“THE CPP WILL hopefully finalize its collaboration framework any time next week. While we await the signing of the document,” the CPP source disclosed. This source further stated that two seats within the CPP are not going to be negotiated for. “No negotiation for the Bassa seat and no peace talk for Montserrado.” We don’t know why. However, we know that Senators Abraham Darius Dillon of MONTSERRADO COUNTY and Nyonblee K. Lawrence of Grand Bassa County are now in the driving seats and are two staunch members of the CPP.
WHILE WE SUPPORT and commend this move by the CPP, we want to be swift to point out that we in no way have endorsed the CPP ahead of any political parties in the coming national elections.
LIBERIANS COMING together to forge a common front is not something that we are fond of doing. It has always been “If I am not the one in the lead, it should not be the other person.” The ‘me, myself and I’ mentality has always held us back from working together as a team to win together.
EVEN THOUGH it is too early to raise our hands and render rounds of applauds for the CPP folks in the absence of them signing the pact that will bind them together into a single force ahead of future national elections, we think they have started on the right footing.
LET’S COMMEND and encourage them now to move past this point to affixing their signatures to the document that will announce them as one body and not four, separate political institutions but by one name that will be on the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) book.
THIS WILL ALSO reduce the number of political parties. The coming together of the present ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the 2017 Presidential and General Elections helped reduce the number of political parties that participated in that election.
WE HOPE THAT This move can also be translated into other areas of life in the country, especially in setting up small, medium and big businesses by Liberians coming together to work together regardless of who is the head at some point.