Gbarnga, Bong County – Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has endorsed the Bong County senatorial bid of Rep. J. Marvin Cole of District 3.
Howard-Taylor endorsed Cole on Sunday when she visited him to sympathize over the loss of his father.
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The vice president said the Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) did not endorse Ambassador Jeremiah Sulunteh because he refused to join the party.
“The CDC will not raise snake against itself,” Howard-Taylor said. “The CDC will support you, Hon. Cole. You can win this race.’’
She said Cole is sure to win with her support and that of President George Manneh Weah.
Last Saturday, President Weah called Cole “senator in waiting,’’ when the two greeted each other at the presidential palace in Gbarnga.
Sulunteh told his supporters on last Saturday that he would contest for the Bong County seat, regardless of CDC’s endorsement of Cole.
“We joined this race because we are hopeful of winning,” he said, urging his supporters not to give up.
In interviews with several political stakeholders in Bong County, FrontPageAfrica learned that Howard-Taylor was looking for a candidate who will appeal to voters, not someone who has the ambition to become vice president.
“If Sulunteh wants the support of the CDC, he must join the party,” Howard-Taylor said. “There is no way the CDC as a ruling party would support a candidate from different party.”
Marcus Kamara, a Cdcian, said the coalition cannot trust Sulunteh.
“I believe Sulunteh still has an ambition to go as vice president in 2023 and supporting him would be arming him for Cummings and the ANC,” he said.
Carlton Kumeh, another Cdcian, said Sulunteh’s influence has dwindled and supporting him as a ruling party that won Bong County, would be a risk because he won’t win the election.
“The CDC needs a candidate who is popular with the people, not Sulunteh, whose popularity has vanished,” Kumeh said.
Jerry McGil, also a Cdcian, said he opposed the coalition’s decision to betray Sulunteh.
McGill said the party should reward Sulunteh for supporting the coalition during the runoff election.
“It’s time we begin to redefine politics in Bong County. Sulunteh did nothing wrong to support the CDC,” Mulbah said.
Terrance Kesseley, another Cdcian, agreed. “With or without CDC, I will support Sulunteh because of his support to the CDC during the runoff,’’ Kesseley said.
Othello Frank, the national chairman of the Friends of Sulunteh, said Sulunteh was the CDC’s preferred choice after he endorsed the party in the run-off election.
Some Bong County supporters of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) in Bong County agree with the CDC’s decision not to support Sulunteh.
Beatrice Loweal, an ANC supporter, said Sulunteh should have stood behind the party’s position not take a side in the run-off election.
“We knew that the CDC would have betrayed Sulunteh that’s why we never supported his decision to join the CDC,” she said.
Sulunteh’s support to the CDC did not have any impact, considering that the party received overwhelming support in Bong County’s 13 districts.