Getting Back to the Drawing Board -Nyonblee wants Calm after ‘Koung Selection’

MONROVIA – Ahead of today’s announcement by Unity Party Standard Bearer Joseph Nyuma Boakai for his running mate that will accompany him to the October 10, 2023 presidential and general elections, and against the backdrop of Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung being reliably selected as the chosen one, Liberty Party Political Leader and Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence says her party’s executive leadership has unanimously resolved at its sitting to consult various structures across the country and in the diaspora, in line with the party’s tradition to seek approval for the endorsement of legislative candidates and Presidential ticket.

“The consultations have begun, and upon conclusion, the public, our partisans and supporters will be duly informed of our direction for the 2023 elections,” Senator Lawrence said in a press statement issued on the eve of the announcement of Ambassador Boakai’s running mate pick.

Continuing, Nyonblee noted that about two years ago, the Liberty Party under her direction embarked on a mission with the Unity Party to begin the process of providing a new direction for Liberia, mainly because the Liberian people were yearning for a change of leadership in the governance system of the country and expressing their approval for a team that they would wish to see chart a new course for Liberia.

“We wish to express our gratitude to the public for standing with us in building the momentum in the direction of the 2023 General and Presidential Elections, especially in respect of a change team that the public had envisaged.  We are very grateful.

 “At this juncture, we wish to inform you that consistent with our democratic tradition, the choosing of a running mate is the decision of a Standard-Bearer. Accordingly, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, with whom the Liberty Party and the All-Liberia Party have fostered a partnership for over two years, informed us that he has made up his mind to choose his running mate for the pending elections outside of the two parties.

“Upon conclusion of our brief meeting with Ambassador Boakai, we convened a meeting of the executive leadership of the Liberty Party to inform the leadership of our conversation with the UP Standard-bearer.

“Consistent with our Party’s tradition, the executive leadership has unanimously resolved at its sitting to consult our various structures across the country and in the diaspora, in line with the party’s tradition to seek approval for the endorsement of legislative candidates and Presidential ticket. The consultations have begun, and upon conclusion, the public, our partisans and supporters will be duly informed of our direction for the 2023 elections.

“Meanwhile, we call on all partisans and supporters of the Liberty Party to remain calm as we conclude these processes. Let it not be forgotten that we embarked on this journey with a deep commitment to work with like-minded forces to bring about real and positive change in the governance of our dear country and to give the Liberian people a government that they truly deserve. Throughout this process, we have always demonstrated that our loyalty to country is stronger and more significant than our personal ambition, and certainly stronger than our loyalty to individual(s),” Senator Lawrence stated unequivocally.

The statement from Liberty Party’s estranged political leader comes against the background of mounting speculations and insider information from within the opposition camp that the selection of Senator Jeremiah Koung as running mate to former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai could lead to a cataclysmic political fallout that might shift the dynamics of the opposition’s quest for the presidency at the October polls.