Personally, I welcome the idea of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) because I believe in a competitive political space. The introduction of the CPP brought a promise of that competitive political space where one candidate would not have all the advantages to win the 2023 presidential election. In fact, I see the birth of the CPP as an opportunity for Liberians to hear from more than one side in terms of manifestos and platforms or plans for the development of Liberia.
As a political thinker, I am of the opinion that in modern day Liberia, no one and let me add single political party can win a presidential election in Liberia; not the True Whig Party, not the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), not the Unity Party (UP) and not any party.
On that note, I dare the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) to do away with the likes of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Liberian People Democratic Party (LPDP) and don’t bring any other party onboard. I dare them to do that and see if The Mighty Congress by itself will come close to power.
Let me say this to members of the CPP. None of you have the ability to individually win the 2023 presidential elections! Don’t dream of it. So those of you thinking about leaving the collaboration as rumors are saying, stop it.
It would be a wrong move if you want to get into government 2023 to help improve the lives of the Liberian. Unless you want to join with other forces, I would advice you against that decision if it exist.
Now, let me narrow into the CPP. The CPP, to me, is a promising union that could restore the hopes and aspirations of the Liberian people for a more inclusive, stronger union and a better Liberia. But since its establishment, the CPP continue to make lots of mistakes. And with all the admiration Liberians may have for the CPP to bring about serious competition in our national body politics, if the house is not organized, I promise you, the Liberian people may not endorse you. Politics is organization. It is discipline and responsibility.
From the get-go during its very establishment, the CPP had been in errors. Errors with even crafting its framework documents. But again, as a mentor and a development worker, I sometimes endorse ‘learning by doing’. The idea of a CPP is relatively new in our political space and as such, I expect mistakes but equally so, I expect that when these mistakes are made, the forerunners should go back to the drawing board to see where the mistake came from, what led to it, how it could be corrected and correct it.
Now, it’s possible to be making mistakes and don’t know that you are in error. And only people with particular interest in you will point out your mistakes to you. But if you choose to ignore the counsel from these people for whatever reasons, you would be heading in the wrong direction.
The recent decision or let me say decision under consideration by the political leaders of the CPP to extend the term of the current Chair Hon. Nyonblee Kangar-Lawrence is utterly wrong and in complete disregard for their very framework document. And it is even more wrong to use the principle of conflict of interest as an excuse for taking such decision. You should have consulted your legal counsel on what conflict of interest actually is if you wanted to use that principle to influence such key decision.
You cannot be campaign on the principles of constitutional order and adherence to the rule of law and be making such mistakes. That decision would be in complete disregard of your framework document which is more or like the constitution of the CPP. That is not a precedent you want to set. It is not good for your future.
In all fairness to your partisans, your admirers and the Liberian people, former Vice President Amb. Joseph Nyuma Boakai should assume the leadership. It is a responsibility assigned to the Unity Party for eight months and the party leadership should be responsible enough to take up the challenge. And no other member of the collaboration should stop or attempt to stop them.
And Amb. Boakai too should not agree to any decision to stop him from doing what the framework document which is more or like the organic regulation of the collaboration has assigned to him. It is wrong and not a good example of stewardship. Conflict of interest is not a valid ground for that.
One source defined conflict of interest as something that ‘happens when an individual involved in multiple interests finds themselves in a decision-making situation where serving one of those interests would harm another’. Conflict of interest is a common issue around us today and many of us might have heard about it.
In understanding this definition of the subject, one can conclude that it occurs when an individual allows their personal interests to compromise their judgment, decision or action in the discharge of their duty.
So I ask the leaders of the CPP, how can Amb. Boakai allow his interest of contesting the CPP standard bearership to compromise his leadership of the collaboration when the CPP is operating on a policy document that is in black and white?
For example, could he change the number of delegates of some parties in the collaboration? Could he threaten delegates that if they don’t cast the votes for him, their votes would not be counted? He could overrule that there will be no primary and he would just announce himself standard bearer for the CPP? How can he influence a process that is laid down in methodology?
If the leadership of the CPP is lacking direction, this is what you need to do: give Amb Boakai his opportunity to serve the collaboration.
Off course, the primary will have a committee that would be set up by the leadership. Before or at the opening of the meetings, all those with vested interest in contesting step down their positions; this would off course include Amb. Boakai since he would by then be the political leader. By that, the process can go on freely without any interference. That’s the way to go.