MONROVIA – Putting aside the political rhetoric, Unity Party’s Joseph Boakai and President George Weah are now endeavoring to reconcile with Mr. Alexander Cummings, the political leader of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), as they seek his support separately for the upcoming runoff election scheduled for November 14.
By Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
President Weah who is seeking reelection for another six-year term earned a marginal top spot in the October 10 presidential elections with 43.83% of the total valid votes while his arch rival, former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party came second with 43.44%.
To secure victory, a candidate must garner over 50% of the vote.
The presidential race in Liberia on October 10 marked the tightest contest since the conclusion of the civil war two decades ago.
Mr. Alexander Cummings of the CPP finished at 4th place securing just 1.61 percent of the total votes in the presidential elections. Mr. Cummings has, however, raised some qualms with the election result, indicating that it does not reflect the manner in which his supporters and the Liberian people at large voted.
In a statement condemning the results, Cummings said, “People are feeling robbed of their right to freely and fairly express their will and choice for leadership. The scheme to rob the Liberian voter of their right to choose their leaders may be sophisticated and difficult to trace and prove, but in the end, it undermines our democracy and risks the security and stability of our country. The evil geniuses involved, and their co-conspirators may believe they can demoralize our right to vote. They may be thinking they can crush our desire to be governed democratically and live in peace.”
He added, “Let me assure all of you that we will continue to do everything within our power to investigate and bring to light what has happened. I promise you that no matter how long it takes, everyone involved will answer. There will be consequences for seeking to undermine Liberia’s young democracy and acting against the interests of the Liberian people.”
Cummings’ CPP is one of three parties including the African Liberation League and the Liberia National Union that have written the National Elections Commission seeking to conduct a forensic examination of the ballot papers with no cost the the Elections Commission.
In an October 21 communication to the Elections Commission the three political leaders stated: “Many Liberians, including partisans, supporters and well-wishers of our parties are deeply concerned about the announced results of the October 10 Elections, especially the presidential contest. As a result, we have decided to conduct a forensic examination of the ballot papers, by experts, at no cost to the National Elections Commission (NEC). Therefore, we request the NEC to not destroy the used and unused ballot papers after the final results are announced.”
However, Cummings on Monday was welcoming to both the incumbent and the standard bearer of the Unity Party as they engaged in separate discussions with him regarding the potential support for their presidential bid in the upcoming runoff election.
On Monday evening, he wrote on his Facebook page:
Today, I was pleased to separately host both Pres. George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai at my residence, at their respective request.
The CPP will continue to engage both the CDC and the Unity Party as we determine our position for the runoff, inspite of our concerns raised with the NEC. We will be speaking to the nation tomorrow in details as to what will inform our decision as the CPP.
I want to thank both leaders of their parties for visiting and for the fruitful discussions we had today.
May God bless Liberia.
Thank you and good night.
FrontPageAfrica gathered that while there are some within the CPP who support the idea of backing the incumbent President George Weah for runoff which is set for November 14, sources say Mr. Cummings may be apprehensive about the potential credibility issues that may arise because of his extensive criticism of the current government. However, there are also concerns over the strained ties between Mr. Cummings and the Unity Party regarding the alleged tampering of the CPP Framework Document that led to Mr. Boakai testifying against Mr. Cummings in court.