Another Fiasco?

-As Opposition Political Parties Plan To Cement Forces For 2020 & 2023

In order to right the wrongs, opposition political parties in the country have again agreed to collaborate ahead of the 2020 Special (Midterm) Senatorial Elections and the 2023 Legislative and Presidential Elections in the country.

According to information gathered by this paper, the Alternative National Congress (ANC) of Alexander Cummings, Unity Party (UP) of former Vice President Joseph Boakai, All Liberian Party (ALP) of Benoni Urey and the Liberty Party (LP) of Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence have again agreed to unite and speak with one voice ahead of the 2020 Senatorial and 2023 General Elections.

The legitimate announcement posted on social media said the official ceremony to authenticate such dream will take place on tomorrow, Thursday February 21, 2019 with the chairpersons of the collaborating parties: Theodore Momo (ALP) Lafayette E. O. Gould (ANC), Sen. Steve Zargo (LP) and Wilmot J. M. Paye (UP) witnessing the signing ceremony by their respective political leaders.

The signing ceremony expected to take place at the headquarters of the Unity Party will be attended by foreign dignitaries, government officials, civil society organizations, yana boys, trade and professional organizations, labor groups among others.

Political pundits and ordinary Liberians are now saying such decision as a defining moment one for those political leaders beginning with the 2020 Senatorial Elections which will determine how strong and united they are moving forward to the 2023 Legislative and Presidential Elections in the country.

However, political pundits and ordinary Liberians are also skeptical of how greed has caused many political marriages involving opposition groups in the country to collapse without realizing their dreams.

The opposition political parties have realized that the only way to gain access to state power with the presence of the most populous President (George Manneh Weah) is to unite forces and come out with one political leader and speak with one voice ahead of the two impending elections.

It can be recalled in September 2016, about 20 opposition political parties signed a communiqué to form a common political collaborative front against the ruling Unity Party (UP) ahead of the October 10, 2017 Elections something that was short lived.

In the document, dubbed the “Ganta Declaration,” the opposition political parties agreed to collaborate and work together for victory.

As a result, the parties resolved to constitute a joint technical committee (JTC), comprising two representatives from each of the political parties to work out the details for approval by the national executive committees of their respective parties.

Signatories to the Declaration were five political leaders, including Senator George M. Weah, (CDC) Charles W. Brumskine, Liberty Party (LP) Alexander B. Cummings, Alternative National Congress (ANC), Senator Prince Y. Johnson Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), and Benoni W. Urey, All Liberian Party (ALP), while the rest of the signatories were ranking officials of other political parties whose standard bearers were not present.

Despite the existence of the Ganta Declaration, three parties actually proceeded to form their own collaboration, known as the Coalition for Democratic Change, comprising the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Liberian People Democracy Party (LPDP).

Interestingly, the other opposition parties remained silent on the main thrust of the declaration and never came forward to provide support to the CDC during the first round of the Presidential Election. TNR