PLP Walking Liberty Party’s Road over Collaboration with CDC
---As Council of Youth Chairpersons REJECT Suspension of County Chairs
MONROVIA-“As one of the biggest buttressing arms of Liberia’s fastest-growing grassroots and masses-based political parties, and in defense of the noble heritage, norms, and ethics of this party, we vehemently denounce the action of the minority faction of the National Executive Committee to suspend elected county chairpersons without prior investigation, significant counts or due process.”
This is how disenchanted Youth Leaders of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP) began their response to news of the suspension of several county Chairpersons of the Party who are questioning the decision of some leaders of the PLP to commit the party to support the governing CDC for the impending 2023 Elections.
The PLP’s Youth Leaders said in a statement, they, therefore, term such action by minority members of the party’s executive committee as an already failed calculated political strategy/plan to bring the party to public disrepute and to compromise the hopes of the struggling masses.
They further described the suspension of the PLP’s County Chairpersons by those they referred to as few individuals as unconstitutional and illegitimate and will therefore not stand under the law.
This saga appears to be similar to the current dispute in the opposition Liberty Party which is split in the middle with serious disagreement between the Musa Bility faction and the Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence’s Faction.
The PLP’s Youth Leaders argue a political party’s decision to join a coalition or an alliance cannot be taken by a few persons, but rather a majority decision that meets the endorsement and consensus of majority members of elected officials as so described in the party’s constitution.
The PLP Youth Leaders’ statement is in support of several county chairpersons and other officials, who have rejected their suspension, terming it as illegal and void.
The Leadership of the PLP, one of six political parties that recently pledged support for the re-election bid of President George Manneh Weah, announced the suspension of the Chairman of County Chairpersons, Captain Jerry Kollie, and four other county chairs for allegedly violating the party’s constitution.
The disagreement in the PLP ensued shortly after the party joined five other political parties to endorse the CDC for the 2023 elections.
Some County Chairpersons of the PLP distanced themselves from the decision of the Party to join the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) on grounds that there were not enough consultations and the decision did not meet the approval of majority members of the Executive Committee and the vast majority of PLP partisans.
Responding to media reports of their suspension on Monday, April 24, 2023, the PLP officials described the news as laughable, illegal, and will therefore have no bearing on their roles as members and officials of the PLP
They called on PLP Political Leader, Tapple Doe and National Chairman Bernard DJ Blues to instead reverse the decision to support the CDC and allow a free, fair, and transparent consultation process that would eventually inform a majority decision as to which side of the political divide the PLP would support.
Two Spokespersons of the aggrieved PLP’s Officials, Oscar Holmes of Bomi County and Captain Jerry Kollie of Bong County, vowed that the CDC collaboration decision would be resisted through the National Elections Commission and at the court.
The PLP county council officials repeated their claims that the decision to take the party to the CDC was made by some members of the National Executive Committee without due consultation with or participation of the Council of County Chairpersons.
Meanwhile, the Council of County Chairpersons of the People’s Liberation Party has again cited greed for money and lack of integrity as the reasons that triggered the minority decision of some executives of the PLP to hurriedly take the party to the CDC.
Alphonso Toweh
Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters
He holds first MA with honors in International Relations and a candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Liberia.