PHOTO: Cummings (in blue country cloth shirt), Bility and other top CPP officials
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The restructured Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) has unveiled a new framework document and declared Alexander Cummings, the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) leader as Standard Bearer.
The new framework document will govern the affairs of the collaboration leading to the 2023 presidential and legislative elections. It was a bitter row over the old CPP framework document that triggered pull out of former Vice President Joseph Boakai’s Unity Party and Benoni Urey’s All Liberian Party from the original CPP. Mr. Cummings was dragged to court for allegedly tampering with the old framework document, but the case was later withdrawn by the state.
Now, the new CPP framework document was on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 unveiled at a jam packed ceremony graced by members and the national executive committees of the ANC and the Musa Bility’s faction of Liberty Party.
Musa Bility officially signed it as the Acting Political leader of LP along with Martin Kollah, Secretary General of LP, while Alexander Cummings ANC Political Leader and Aloysius Toe, Secretary General of the ANC.
Speaking at the ceremony shortly after receiving the document, the newly elected CPP standard bearer, Alexander Cummings disclosed that the collaboration is opened to other political parties with the same ideology due to the content of the document.
ANC and Liberty party supporters
According to him, the ANC and LP will work with other political parties in order to maintain one opposition front against the Coalition for Democratic Change.
“You Liberian people wanted us to form one opposition front in order to make President George Weah to serve one-term. No more will the Liberian people allow individuals to steal their money,” Mr. Cummings asserted.
“If you think that you want to join this collaboration in order to steal the Liberian people’s money, then you will be missing the boat,” the new CPP flagbearer added.
Presenting the framework document, the newly elected Chairman of the CPP, Musa Bility made it clear that Mr. Alexander Cummings is now the undisputed standard bearer of the CPP.
Mr. Bility cautioned Mr. Cummings to do all he can to lead the CPP in forming a united front against the Coalition for Democratic Change in the 2023 presidential elections because it is the popular demand of the Liberian people.
“Our people expect nothing less and they believe that you will not let us down, you must do all you can to give the country and people what we deserve,” said Bility, who was hours earlier warned against his move by the Liberty Party’s embattled political leader, Senator Nyonblee Karnga.
According to Mr. Bility, the CPP is the only option that the opposition has and even those who were jumping out of the collaboration have not been able to form a united front.
“You are taking over the CPP at a critical time in the country where most of our people who have the mentality that doing the wrong thing are the way forward for this country.”
The new CPP Chairman, Bility cautioned the supporters of the CPP to protect the collaboration and work to include other political parties to join the battle to redeem this country.
He called on the ANC and LP to relief themselves of the selfish mentality because this is a collaboration that Mr. Cummings is trying to build and bring about a new Liberia.
Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh says Liberia is in a hole
Speaking during the program, a breakaway member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Governance Council, Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh said Liberia is currently sinking.
Dr. McIntosh, who is also an executive of the Liberia People’s Democratic Party (LPDP), one of the three constituent parties of the CDC, said he is one of the persons who believes that this country must come out of the hole that it is in to rightful place.
“Just Because I believe in that I am prepared to do whatever that it necessary to get mama Liberia out of the hole to where it needs to be and this is what I stand for, believe in and work for,” Dr. McIntosh told the audience.
For his part, the National Vice Chairman of the People’s Liberation Party, Orlando Saah Fallah, who spoke on behalf of his party’s National Chairman Tipple Doe, said as the 2023 presidential and legislative elections draw nearer, the road will very difficult and challenging.
He encouraged members of the opposition community to be very strong, courageous, committed and far sighted in order not to repeat the tragedy of the 2017
“Liberia as a country has experienced many tragedies but the tragedy in 2017 in which Liberians elected a footballer as a president is the worse since the founding of this country and people.”
According to him, today, President Weah “has zero understanding of governance”.
“One of our biggest challenges is that we have a man who does not know what to do, because he has no understanding on how Liberia as a country should be run; as a result, our country is retrogressing speedily. That is why we as young people must tell Mr. Weah and group of thugs that enough is enough because we cannot afford to give the CDC another six years and take Liberia backward,” the PLP official said.
“Because, doing so we will be creating dangerous for the succeeding generation and this is the reason we at the PLP are encouraging this kind of gathering.”
In remarks, the National Secretary General of the United People’s Party, Semion Kaykar pointed out that is backward in terms of development among many of the neighboring countries because Liberia has been very unfortunate to have good leader.
“The UPP feels strongly that the leadership of the CPP can make a difference by ensuring that this country moves forward,” he said.
The UPP National Secretary General appealed to all opposition political parties to work with the leadership of the CPP, in order to form a united force in the 2023 elections.