MONROVIA – Amid the gradual disintegration of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), there are ongoing plans among the potential breakaway factions to form another conglomerate of opposition political parties with other members of the opposition who weren’t members of the CPP.
This was even alluded to by Mr. Benoni Urey on Wednesday when he was hosted by Henry Costa. Responding to a caller who urged him to lobby with other political parties to amalgamate strength to unseat President George Weah. He said, “We have already commenced that. We didn’t have to do it, they have approached us and to be honest with you they have been extremely angry at the pace at which we have been moving, but it’s clear that the CPP is over and we’re in the process of forming a new coalition and we will use the experience of the CPP to ensure that we don’t make the same mistake and it’s a learning curve, we’ll proceed on it.”
Sources familiar with the formation of the new Coalition informed FrontPageAfrica that after the ALP shall have withdrawn from the CPP, the Unity Party will follow and then, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and her cohorts will break away from the Liberty Party to join the ALP and the UP and other opposition political parties for the formation of the Coalition of Unity Party (CUP) to race against the Alternative National Congress and the remaining fragments of the CPP and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change in the 2023 elections.
The source also informed FPA that unlike it was done in the CPP, the CUP will follow the trend of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) by ensuring that it is crafted in their constitution that the Unity Party being the biggest constituent in the coalition would be entitled to the standard bearer post.
According to the source, the Liberia People’s Democratic Party, a constituent member of the ruling CDC, headed by former Speaker J. Alex Tyler, has given the assurance of joining the Coalition of Unity Party when it is formed. The LPDP has constantly complained of being disregarded in the ruling Coalition.
But these plans have been on a slow pace as Mr. Urey and his associates await the outcome of the criminal charges pressed against Mr. Alexander Cummings and his Alternative National Congress (ANC).
“They are hoping and playing their cards so that Cummings will be found guilty of forgery as they have alleged. I do not know why they are so optimistic that they’ll win the case, but they are. The game plan is that when they win the case, Cummings will be expelled from the CPP and then Mr. Boakai will automatically become the standard bearer,” the source said.
However, while the ALP is hoping to find Cummings guilty of forgery and criminal conspiracy, the ANC political leader has consistently denied altering the CPP’s Framework Document or forging the signature of any of its political leaders. He argued that changing the CPP’s Framework Document would not offer him any advantage as he will be equally affected by any change.
“This is why you see that Joseph Boakai as chairman of the CPP has remained silent in this entire saga. It all plays in his favor as he is part of the plan,” the source said.
However, Mr. Mo Ali, the head of the CPP Secretariat told FrontPageAfrica, Mr. Boakai got to know about the court case when the media reported it. “So, making statement prematurely could will not show leadership. If the Chairman were to make any statement, such statement would be based on appropriate legal advice,” he said.
According to Ali, the secretariat has been concerned about the infraction in the CPP from the day the UP ascended to the helm of leadership. He said, as head of the secretariat, he has cited series of meetings to at least discuss and proffer recommendations to the executive committee for consideration but the ALP and the ANC, according to him, turned down the invitation.
Mr. Ali who also serves as the National Secretary General of the Unity Party of which Mr. Boakai is standard bearer said he sees the ongoing wrangle between the ALP and the ANC as the beginning of the irreversible disintegration of the CPP.
But while Mr. Urey is in talks with other opposition political parties for the formation of a new Coalition, Mr. Cummings, too, remains optimistic that he would come of the trial victories and would strengthen the CPP without Urey to take on President Weah in 2023.
“I will run for president in 2023 if the CPP stays together as the standard bearer of the CPP ticket. I will run for president if the CPP doesn’t stay together,” he said
FrontPageAfrica gathered the ANC and the faction of the Liberty Party led by its chairman Musa H. Bility are in talks with other prominent Liberians and politicians to come over for the formation of a “trusted and formidable” force that will represent the alternative the Liberian people are looking forward to.