Monrovia – MacDella Cooper’s bid for the Liberian Presidency is off the burner – at least for now. Unless she opts to try convincing one of the other two dozen political parties to tag her along; or take her pleadings to the Supreme Court, in anticipation of a ruling before the July 12, 2017 deadline for the completion of the nomination process, her bid may be likely over.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
Cooper was declared the standard bearer of the Union of Liberian Democrats at primaries held on April 22, 2017. She, like most presidential candidates in Liberia these days, was elected on a white ballot.
Four days later, the Civil Law Court ‘A’ placed a stay order on the entire election process.
“I was very open to the court ruling, whatever the court decided I trust the court system in Liberia. Whether it is fair to me or unfair that is the court system. I am not in the mode to go and fight the court as to what the ruling is, I am settling myself, I got a plan “B” and a plan “C” and I am going to take whichever one to works best to go in the next direction” – MacDella Cooper
Cooper and her faction had been warned by both the court and the National Elections Commission not to carry out the election.
The stay order in effect, meant that Cooper was never really recognized as a contender at least pending the outcome of a hearing.
The request for the order was filed by Jonathan A. Mason, the original standard bearer of the ULD, and several executives who sought the court’s intervention for a “Petition for Declaratory Judgment.”
In their complaint, Mason alleged that on April 19 the national executive committee of the party met in a special session and took a decision that the ULD was not prepared to hold the convention on Saturday, April 22. Mason further alleged that the decision was based on the lack of proper preparation that will provide a level playing field for all the contestants.
Tuesday’s ruling against Cooper dealt her a major blow that could take her a long time to recover.
Cooper, from all indication appears to have miscalculated the rugged Liberian political terrain.
By tapping into the political obscurity of the ULD, a party whose last presidential candidate Robert Kpoto, only managed 0.4 percent of the votes in the 2005 president elections, and has laid dormant for the past few years, spoke to the desperation of a candidate who was counting on her reputation as a model and humanitarian, to make some waves in the political waters of this year’s presidential race.
ULD has no seats in the Senate or the house and has in the eyes of most political observers, an outside chance of improving on its 0.4 percent showing of the ’05 elections.
Nevertheless, Cooper, according to lawsuit brought against her by the legitimate faction of the ULD, unilaterally held a convention without the consensus of the executive council of the party in clear violations of section 5.1 of the party’s by-laws and Constitution.
Cooper’s heart and intentions were in the right place but she chose a party that was never going anywhere and a faction of the party that was simply on the wrong side of the party’s laws.
She was able to convince Chairman Solomon Khan who worked tirelessly to make her candidacy a reality to the dismay of the legitimate faction which felt she was an outsider looking to sweep their party from under their feet.
And the judge agreed.
Judge Boima Kontoe ruled that the convention which gave Cooper the platform of a standard bearer was null and void because it was illegally held.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing circumstances in the case, it is the ruling of this court that the April 22, 2017 convention held by ULD Chairman Solomon Khan is declared null and Void,” Judge Kontoe ruled.
Next stop for Cooper, a challenge to the Supreme Court for its October 2017 sitting. Although Judge Kontoe granted her lawyers their plea, that date will come long after the run-up to elections.
But Cooper is unlikely to wait for that process as she told journalists at a news conference Wednesday, a day after the ruling that she intends to be on the ballot.
“MacDella Cooper will be elected by the Liberians people come October 10, 2017, as the next president of Liberia”, she said in the backdrop of the closing ceremony of her school; the MacDella Cooper Foundation Academic at the American International School on the Road Old Wednesday.
Quizzed about the Civil Law Court decision, Cooper averred: “I was very open to the court ruling, whatever the court decided I trust the court system in Liberia.
Whether it is fair to me or unfair that is the court system. I am not in the mode to go and fight the court as to what the ruling is, I am settling myself, I got a plan “B” and a plan “C” and I am going to take whichever one to works best to go in the next direction.”
She went on to alleging that some members of the executive council of the party do not believe in pushing young people, something she says will not stall her progress.
Taking a swipe at Mr. Mason, the former model said: “To Jonathan Mason and the others, I wish them the best”.
She said that in the next couple of days she is going to submit her document to serve as Standard Bearer of another party as she ventured into praise of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s leadership for keeping the peace for the 12 years while pledging to begin from where the president will end when her term ends in January.
Despite her pledge to remain in the race, the candidate without a party for now, is running against the clock.
The candidate nomination process kicks off from July 2-24 and all parties have by July 11 to have their tickets announced.
The ULD in the meantime is moving beyond Cooper and according to Secretary General Prince Varney the model and humanitarian is history and no one should recognize she and those who crowned her standard bearer.
“Macdella Cooper is not our standard bearer, the executive council of the party is going to meet and we will announce the new convention date for our party”.
As the party consults with the National Elections Commission to get the go ahead to carry out the party’s nomination of its candidates for the Presidential and Legislative elections in October, Cooper is left to ponder what went wrong?
The former refugee who fled her homeland in 1990 for neighboring Ivory Coast at the height of the civil war was hoping to charm her way in the footsteps of the first woman to lead and African nation.
She said the right things about alleviating poverty and her quest to stand out from the rest of the pack. “A lot of times, individuals who suggest themselves as potential leaders in our country use propaganda that are not productive for Liberia’s future.
At some point, we have to stop the vicious cycles including ethnic and tribal differences that really distract people from focusing on moving our country forward.
During the war, they turned every tribe against each other. We know the tactics. I choose not to be a part of that discussion,” she was quoted by the IBTimes UK.
In order to revamp the post-Ebola economy, Cooper spoke about the need to turn around the $US555.9m (£447.1m) national budget for 2016/2017 by slashing high salaries to government officials.
“Young people are still on the streets trying to figure out where their first or only meal of the day is going to come from.
Yet, we still have chosen few in leadership who are getting paid over 50% of our national budget. Our government is by far Liberia’s highest employer.”
But despite her stance on the issues, there were many of her critics who charge that her heart was never really in the race but rather, being used as a stepping stone to raise cash internationally for her MacDella Cooper Foundation.
There was also the issue of her relationship with another candidate in the race, the football legend George Weah that always clouded her candidacy. It always came up in interview – and her responses were often picked apart for headlines.
Long before announcing her quest for the presidency she told the New York Post that her dream was to become the next first lady as Mrs. George Weah.
“He’s going to be the next president of Liberia.”
“You have a future first lady here,” she in a 2014 interview.
Months later, when the VOA asked her about it, she sidestepped the issue despite previously acknowledging that he had fathered one of her three children.
“George Weah, like every other candidate in the race are very good friends of mine. I’m a new breed of politicians that believe politics is just an idea.
When we are done discussing politics is just an idea.
When we are done discussing politics, we go talk about other things pertaining to our country so George Weah is a very good friend, so is Alex Cummings, so with Joseph Boakai, everybody else in the race. I have no enemies; everybody is my friend,” she said.
For the immediate future, Cooper, who once trumpeted herself as one of the new breed of politicians who sees politics as just an idea is finding out the hard way, after going through a grueling awakening and getting a reality check on her first orientation into the rugged jungle of Liberian politics.
It is an awakening she at least for now appears to be hoping, will keep her candidacy alive until Liberians head to the polls in October.
“I will be a Standard Bearer of another party. This is Liberian politics; you got to play smart.”