The Political Leader of the former ruling Unity Party and former Vice President, Mr. Joseph Nyumah Boakai has stated in clear terms that he will definitely contest the presidential election in 2023 and that the Unity Party will fully participate in the ensuing bye election to fill in the vacant Senatorial Seat in Lofa County, a strong stand against the objection raised by the Alternative National Congress(ANC) and the Liberty Party(LP) with the National Elections Commission, citing a violation of a major component of the framework document of the Collaborating Political Parties(CPP).
Mr. Boakai made the statement on Saturday, March 26, 2022 when he served as chief launcher of the Fund Drive Rally and Digital Membership Database of the Unity Party National Youth Congress (UPNYC) held at the National Headquarters of the Party on Broad Street, Monrovia.
“I have been informed of a communication addressed to the National Elections Commission under the signatures of Mr. Musa Bility and Senator Daniel Naathan bordering on the legality of Unity Party featuring a candidate in the upcoming Lofa County Senatorial race; I want to make it emphatically clear that the Unity Party will field a Candidate in the Lofa race and I have instructed our party leadership to make sure that happens.
“Further to that, as I have stated before, let me reassure not just UP Partisans but also my supporters all over Liberia and in the Diaspora, that I, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., Standard Bearer of the Unity Party, will contest in the 2023 Presidential Elections in Liberia. Let the word go forth that the Unity Party and the People of Lofa have had enough and will not continue to be insulted, disrespected and disenfranchised by the CDC government of President Weah”, He said.
Mr. Boakai’s statement was the first official reaction from either the All Liberia Party and the Unity whose political future the ANC and LP wanted to be interpreted by the National Elections Commission through a communication citing Section 8.5(2) of the framework document of the CPP after ALP and UP decided to exit the collaboration.
In the communication written under the banner of the CPP and carried on the letterhead of the collaboration with logos of the four parties that originally agreed to work together and oppose the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the ANC and LP, acting as the only remaining constituents, called on NEC to also advice them how next to proceed now that the other two parties have left the CPP and that they will revert to the commission on the way forward.
By their communication to NEC, they want the disqualification of ALP and UP to begin with the electoral umpire stopping the duo (ALP and UP) from presenting any candidate in the ensuing bye election in Lofa County to fill the seat which was made vacant by the verdicts of both the lower court and the Supreme Court of Liberia which ruled that former Minister of Defense, Brownie J. Samukai has a disability to occupy the seat as an ex-convict.
Speaking to the youth while launching the project, he said he was delighted to be invited to participate in the program where they have taken the initiative to organize and hold the Two Hundred Liberian Dollars National Rally and Launching of their official Digital Membership Database System.
“Now, with this Fund-Drive program, you continue to calibrate yourselves and your role in the continuous growth of Unity Party, by coordinating with the Party’s leadership to put the Congress in an optimal state in order to galvanize resources and foster UP’s growth and overall development. Your holding of this Fund-Drive, therefore, tells me as your Standard Bearer that you are a group of self-motivated young people whose vision is aligned with the mission of our dear Party.
“I am therefore pleased for the invitation to be with you again as you continue to make history in our Party. While I stand to be corrected, I am almost very certain that the launching of this digital membership database system is the first of its kind being launched by any youth wing of any political party in Liberia”, he said
Former Vice President Boakai said he was convinced that the digital membership database system is a definite way of tracking the membership of not only the National Youth Congress but also the entire Unity Party itself and can also be used to capture demographic information, including skills and developmental needs of our young people; identify membership growth of our Party periodically; and can serve UP in dealing with issues and programs based on evidence and truthfulness.
He noted that many programs for the young people in the society are not evidence based; that they are usually developed on assumptions which have bred unrealistic results, so the coming into existence of a database system by the Youth Congress is a laudable undertaking and he was exceptionally proud of the leadership of the UP National Youth Congress for taking on this endeavor
“I can foresee two ways the database system can be beneficial:
- It can help the Unity Party to analyze data in a variety of ways and promote a disciplined approach to data management.
- It can also turn unrelated information into a valuable resource and improve the quality and consistency of information flow in our Party across the country.
“This membership database system will therefore afford UP leadership the opportunity to craft programs that will be realistic and sustainable. In addition, we must consider the development of our 15-county profile for Unity Party. To my UP Youth, you have my confidence and support, continue to be respectful and law abiding”, he said.
Mr. Boakai concluded that the next Unity Party government under his leadership will be robust in developing sustained developmental program for the youth of Liberia, adding that he intends to craft programs and strategies not only to develop the young Partisans but also to empower all young Liberians to become active participants in national development.
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