By Bill W. Cooper
It appeared that the distraction in the camp of Ambassador Joseph Boakai over his decision to select Senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate that led to some key political allies boycott could not prevent the highly-anticipated ceremony from taking place.
On Friday, April 28, 2023, the Unity Party’s standard bearer announced Nimba County Senator and political leader of the Movement for Reconstruction and Democracy (MDR), Jeremiah Koung as his running mate in October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections.
However, to the surprise of political pundits, the Grand Bassa County Senator, the Liberty Party’s embattled political leader, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, the All Liberian Party’s political leader, Benoni W. Urey and a critic of the George M. Weah-led Government and head of Council of Patriots that hosted the June 7 protest, Henry P. Costa did not show up.
Other allies that failed to show up for the program were Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon, the head of the JNB’s Tact team, Telia Urey and Daniel O. Sando of the Liberty Party, among others.
While those in attendance were Montserrado County District 10 Representative, Yekeh Kolubah; Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson; the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFFL) CIC, Emmanuel Gonqoi; the UP former Chairperson, Wilmot Paye; the Vision for Liberia Transformation Party (VOLTP) political leader, Jeremiah Wapoe and a representative from the Rainbow Alliance, among others.
Though this paper is yet to establish the reason behind Mr. Boakai allies’ boycott, some Liberians including political pundits attributed the absence of those key supporters of Mr. Boakai to ‘dissatisfaction and betrayal.’
While others said Sen. Karnga-Lawrence’s absence from the program was due to the holding of consultations with her supporters in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County as to which direction to go and that Mr. Urey’s absence was based on business engagement with partners.
Sen. Kargna-Lawrence and Mr. Urey had been key supporters of Boakai and stood firmly with him during the upheaval in the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) afterwhich the Unity Party later withdrew.
But prior to the Friday’s event, the LP’s political leader in a statement issued late Thursday said that irrespective of the strong partnership, she along with Urey formed with the Boakai and the Unity Party, Boakai informed them on Tuesday that he had made up his mind to choose his running mate for the pending elections outside of the Liberty Party and the All Liberian Party.
“Consistent with our party’s tradition, the executive leadership has unanimously resolved at its sitting to consult our various constituents across the country and in the diaspora and thereafter provide a clear direction for our partisans, many of whom had been anxiously waiting for the pronouncement of Ambassador Boakai. The consultations have begun, and in subsequent time, the public and our partisans and supporters will be duly informed of our direction for the 2023 elections.”
However, Urey is yet to make a public statement concerning the Unity Party’s standard bearer decision of an MDR running mate for the upcoming October polls.
