MONROVIA – The People’s Restoration Party (PRP) of Liberia through its vision Bearer Alexander N. Kollie has threatened to sue the National Elections Commission (NEC) for attempting to deny them their right to participate in the pending 2023 Presidential and General Elections.
In an interview with FrontPageAfrica, Mr. Kollie accused the NEC of working with one Mr. Richmond D. K. Yarkpah who is the organizing committee chairman of the Party to strangulate them by delaying the Party’s convention which is the only process remaining to qualify them for the 2023 elections.
“If there is a conflict that NEC is aware of why do they continue to work with Yaekpah and delay our chances of taking part in the elections? We should have had our convention. If NEC does not act quickly by listening to the concerns of the organizing committee members to remove Yarkpah, we are prepare to take them to court.
“NEC is infringing on our rights as a political Party. One man cannot hold us down, and NEC allows that to happen. We were certificated in April of 2021 and it’s over a year now. We have a text where Yarkpah is planning to sell the political party to another person. We have met all the criteria for certification.”
The NEC did not respond to the Allegations despite efforts to have them t comment. We were informed that the political Affairs section was out of town conducting political activities and was not available to speak on the matter.
He’s living in illusion
Mr. Yaekpah in response to the claims made by his vision bearer confirmed that he is the organizing committee chair of the party but also claimed that as chairman of the organizing committee chair he is automatically the chairman of the Party who will take the party to the convention in keeping with the NEC regulations but failed to mention the Provision of the NEC law.
In a telephone interview with FPA, he said he has been in the gap of the PRP representing the party at the National Elections Commission. He said, since assuming the chairmanship as organizing committee chairman, in 2017, he has managed to register the Party and obtain a legal certificate from the NEC to operate as a Political Party.
Without a Party constitution, the Mr. Yaekpah suspended some members of the Party including the vision bearer but that decision was overturned by the NEC because there was no constitution of the party to use to suspend people. He was told to conduct a convention at which time the Party constitution will be adopted.
In the elections law, it is the organizing committee chairman and the Secretary-General recognized by the NEC as long as we do not go for the convention, I remain the chairman. I am the organizing chairman and I remain the chairman.
Formation of PRP
In 2015, the members of the National Organizing Committee (NOC), had a meeting in Kakata, Margibi County to choose the leadership of the NOC of the PRP. The objective was, to form what would be termed as the EMNOC, a leadership put in place to run this new political party and to take it to convention and make decisions on behalf of the party pre-convention; to take the party to a convention where all the appointed positions (Chairman to Youth League) created by the EMNOC will be contested for at convention, thus dissolving the OCPRP.
At that meeting, it was suggested by the late Sebastian Saah, the host of the meeting, that the EMNOC be comprised of seventeen members, but must all be FOUNDING MEMBERS of the PRP. The late Watta Saah, also suggested that for the sake of inclusivity, the EMNOC be comprised of eight Organizing members and eight Non-Organizing members (names on the forms sent to the NEC), but must all be FOUNDING MEMBERS of PRP. The idea was welcomed and received a unanimous vote and the people were voted into office as the EMNOC.
Since the inception of the EMNOC in 2015, this group has been the decision-making body of PRP pre-convention and has appointed every person in a position with a mandate, from the CHAIRMAN of the organizing committee chairman.
In a letter to the NEC dated March 16, 2022, they reference a NEC board ruling that asked Richmond D. K. Yarkpah to work with the Executive Members of the Organizing Committee of PRP and come up with a plan for convention in TWO WEEKS. Unfortunately, it appears the two EMNOC that Richmond D. K. Yarkpah has something against them who appointed him and does not want to them.
According to Mr. Kollie, since the certification of the PRP on April 3, 2021, Mr. Richmond D. K. Yarkpah, the current Chairman of the Organizing Committee has refused to hold up to his word to turn the party over to the EM -NOC as promised.
“When Mr. Yarkpah was spoken to by the Vision bearer, Rev. Alexander Ndorber Kollie about what was decided back then, he became intransigent and decided to go rough. Even after several meetings with Mr. Yarkpah, he insisted on not working with us but would do things his way because, according to him, he was now the chairman of the party. “He did not acknowledge convention. Even with the intervention of the NEC to help resolve this misunderstanding, Mr. Yarkpah has refused/failed to work alongside us to plan the convention. Consequently, Mr. Yarkpah has remained resolute to divide this party as evidenced by his insubordination to the EM – NOC, sowing seeds of discord, and trying to sell the party for his own greed; this is according to reliable sources and we do have evidence to this effect, which has been buttressed by his demeanor.”