MONROVIA – Former Vice President Joseph Boakai who currently serves as standard bearer of the Unity Party and Chairman of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) is expected to address the nation today on the status of the CPP amid its gradual meltdown.
An announcement pertaining to the press conference posted to Facebook stated: “A speech on the state and fate of the Collaborating Political Parties or CPP is expected today or tomorrow. As promised a fortnight ago, the CPP Chairman, Former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Standard Bearer of the Unity Party will give an account of his stewardship of the CPP to the people of Liberia. Following his report on the CPP, he is anticipated to make a headline statement. Stay tuned…”
While it is not clear what the “headline statement” would be, sources within the Unity Party have hinted FrontPageAfrica that Mr. Boakai will be officially withdrawing the Unity Party from the CPP.
Mr. Boakai has been heavily criticized for being mute amid the CPP crisis; however, it took many by surprise when his name surfaced as one of the key government witnesses in the ongoing trial against the ANC’s Alexander B. Cummings for the alleged altering of the CPP Framework Document which Cummings has repeatedly denied being involved with.
Last week, former Senator of Maryland County, John Ballout, warned against the disintegration of the CPP, noting that none of political parties making up the CPP can win the ruling establishment in the 2023 presidential elections.
“Each and every member of the CPP on their own cannot win any election in this country; including the very CDC, George Weah and this Congress for Democratic Change on their own cannot win election in this country. We have reached another level of our democratic process that we need to have collaboration – that collaboration, if is not protected and sustained, if you lose it, you’ll also lose the support that you have,” he said.
Mr. Ballout lamented that some of the leaders of the CPP believe they can only succeed by bringing their counterparts down, noting that they will not be unable to undo the harm and disgrace they may cause to each other as their supporters continue to insult and denigrate each other’s leaders.
“We see that Cummings is being presented to the government by the CPP itself and Cummings is going through all of this, as soon as Cummings gets the worst penalty, if Amb. Boakai goes for the runoff, can he count on Cummings to come and support him?”
Ballout added, “Joseph Boakai is the one who has everything to lose; the Unity Party Boakai has more to lose so he has to make sure that this CPP arrangement is indispensable for him – it’s untradable… If the Unity Party breaks away and goes on its own, where will it be going to? You’ll be going to exactly where you were when you lost the election in 2017… Nothing has changed, the only that has changed is a worsen situation because Amb. Boakai is no longer in power, he’s not an incumbent. He doesn’t have the facilities that he has at his disposal.”
