MONROVIA: The standard bearer of the opposition Unity Party Alliance, Ambassador Nyuma Boakai has enjoined Liberians to demonstrate their love, courage, resilience, and determination to rescue the country by turning out in their mass on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 and vote in the runoff election that will “mark yet another milestone in the citizens’ collective sojourn to remove terror, lawlessness, corruption, indifference, neglect, and incompetence that have accordingly plagued the country for the past six years”.
Making the statement on Sunday, November 12, 2023, a day following the Unity Party Alliance Rescue Mission’s highly acclaimed runoff campaign closure around the country, Ambassador Boakai observed, “With victory in our reach and Mr. Weah’s fear of the day of reckoning, he has embarked on a reckless misadventure to orchestrate a campaign of fear. He and his co-conspirators have now resorted to the worst acts of cowardice to frighten our people into submission but one man’s desperation for power will not hold our country ransom.”
A Litany of Violations
Citing what he termed as a plethora of violations against all principles and laws that promote democracy and free and fair elections, Ambassador Boakai said President Weah has wantonly flaunted and committed serious violations of the Liberian constitution, regional and international laws, especially the ECOWAS Protocol.
“On Friday, November 10, 2023, while our Vice Standard Bearer, Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung and Senator Prince Yormie Johnson were leading scheduled campaign activities in Zor Zualay, Nimba County, they narrowly escaped death when their convoy came under a hail of gunfire.
“We later learned that a certain Anthony Quiwonkpa, a staff in the office of Mr. George Weah, was responsible for this deadly attack which was premeditated and planned to disrupt and prevent the Vice Standard Bearer from campaigning.
“As a result of this brazen disregard for human lives, about 7 persons were wounded and several vehicles damaged.
“Our investigation conducted so far suggests that this callous act of lawlessness was masterminded and orchestrated by President Weah and his operatives hoping that they can instill fear in the People of Nimba and the Liberian Populace.
“The UP wishes all those injured in the attacks a speedy recovery. They are true heroes. Their sacrifices will not be in vain. They are true patriots with a cause to defend.
“We condemn this gross violation of our laws and call on the Government of Liberia to act swiftly in bringing the violators to justice. We call on our international partners to take note of these gross breaches of international laws. We intend to register our position through the appropriate legal channels,” Mr. Boakai said.
Also speaking on the incident regarding a Ghanaian citizen who was reportedly hired by the Unity Party Alliance to conduct technical trainings for UP poll workers in Southeastern Liberia, Ambassador Boakai recalled how in River Gee County where technical trainings were scheduled to commence on Wednesday, November 8th, 2023, the UP team was harassed and later a Ghanaian National, Sumson Essien Jnr, who was providing technical assistance was arrested by the Police and later subjected to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.
“Our vehicle, 174 smart telephones, and several election-related materials were confiscated. The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Justice refused to respect court summons and demonstrated the most wanton disregard for our courts especially after a petition for the writ of habeas corpus was prayed for and granted. They were complicit and sneaked Mr. Essien to Monrovia under the cover of darkness. This is unacceptable!
“No deportation hearings were conducted and Mr. Essien was criminalized without due process.
“Mr. Essien was released and reportedly deported. The kangaroo process and circumstances surrounding this development needs to be investigated.
“By this act, Mr. Weah and his government have further demonstrated his indifference to national and regional commitments especially the ECOWAS Protocols,” Ambassador Boakai averred.
Speaking further, Ambassador Boakai narrated how in Maryland County, former Senator and Ambassador John Ballout experienced unwarranted attacks by individuals allegedly acting upon the orders of defeated Maryland County Representative, Bhofal Chambers.
“In Grand Kru County, the homes of our party leaders were subjected to illegal search and seizure, and they continue to experience harassment and intimidation from Pro Tempore Albert Chie of the ruling CDC. In Grand Gedeh, members of our technical team were attacked by supporters of President Weah.
“In Gbarpolu, Bong and other counties, our trainers and partisans continue to report harsh treatments and intimidations from members of the Government and officials of the Coalition for Democratic Change.
“On Saturday, November 4th, 2023, the Chairperson of the Unity Party (UP), Madam Martha C. Morris and some members of her team were cruelly attacked upon the orders of Representative Marvin Cole of the CDC. In the process, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Gbono-Ta Health Center was mercilessly flogged and taken unconscious to the John F. Kennedy Hospital here in Monrovia.
“Fellow Liberians, we have outlined these violations to narrate the fear that has gripped Mr. Weah and his Party and to state our confidence to win these elections. We know change is inevitable and now imminent. For Mr. Weah and his co-conspirators, the day of reckoning is near: innate greed and self-aggrandizement will end.
“For Liberians, it is the end of juvenile delinquent leadership and reckless governance. It is an end to lawlessness and industrialized corruption. It is the end to the tears of our mothers, relatives and friends who continue to weep for their children and loved ones who were the victims of disappearances and mysterious murders. For many parents, it is the end to the drug epidemic and the Kush invasion.
“Fellow Liberians, the Unity Party and its Allies are mature and responsible enough to understand the reckless misadventure of Mr. Weah, his Government and Party.
“We understand his feeble strategy to desperately hold on to power. We dare Mr. Weah to tamper with our votes and rig these elections. The consequences on him will be devastating and unimagined. We are committed to protecting the Liberian votes and permitting the will of the majority to prevail.
“With the runoff elections scheduled on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, it is becoming obvious that the only strategy left with George Weah and his CDC is to engage in fear mongering and in some cases vain attempts to eliminate strong opponents. They want to deter peaceful Liberians from turning out in their mass to vote against the failed CDC government.
“These troubling patterns of disrupting, harassing and viciously attacking Party leaders in an effort to assassinate or silence them, days to the runoff elections, is indicative of a government that has realized it will be defeated for its miserable failures.
“The Unity Party takes these frequent attacks seriously and We recall that during the first round of the elections, UP partisans were violently attacked on multiple occasions. As a result of our commitment to the Farmington declaration, we exercised utmost restraint to avoid undermining our fledgling democracy.
“We have called on our partisans and sympathizers to remain calm as such unprovoked acts are intended to instill fear, divert our campaign, and frighten our people but we will not surrender! We will meet our foes with valor unpretending!
“We call on all Liberians to remain emboldened in the face of these acts of lawlessness designed and implemented under the watchful eyes of Mr. Weah.
“We call on all our partisans, rescue missionaries and supporters to remain calm and peaceful as we approach the day of reckoning for President Weah.
“Please turn out in your numbers on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, and troop to the polls to vote out this lawless and corrupt leadership. Please vote # 1.
“By voting against Mr. Weah and his CDC you are helping to remove a failed and inept government.
“By voting for the Unity Party, you want to assure the future of hope and promise for our country and generations to come. By voting Joseph Boakai, Jeremiah Kpan Koung and the Unity Party, you are saying no to juvenile delinquent leadership in Liberia.
“In conclusion, I extend deepest condolences to the family and friends of Samuel J. Collins, one of our supporters, who met his untimely death yesterday during our pre-victory parade. I spoke with his family and they were in good spirits. May his soul rest in peace. Vote #1 for a prosperous Liberia and the dawning of a new Day!” Ambassador Boakai closed his hard-hitting statement.
In a related development, the politics of crowd, which continues to play a major factor in the validation of voters’ empathy for many political parties or candidates, seems to have been reinforced on Saturday, November 11, 2023 when the Unity Party Alliance Green Day runoff closing campaign went full throttle with Liberians from all walks of life converging in their numbers within the 15 political subdivisions of the country to show their support for the Joseph Nyuma Boakai-Jeremiah Kpan Koung ticket that will be contesting in the November 14, 2023 runoff election against incumbent President George Manneh Weah and his Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor.
The heightened momentum of the Rescue Mission closing runoff campaign was evident by the massive turnout of Unity Party Alliance stalwarts, supporters, sympathizers, followers and enthusiasts who showed up during the early morning hours of Saturday at various meeting points within the 17 districts of Montserrado County, decked up in their resplendent green and white regalia, signifying the official colors of the Unity Party.
From the residence of former Vice President Joseph Boakai, to the Catholic Junction; from Vamoma House in Sinkor, on to the Unity Party Headquarter on Broad Street; from the various districts of Montserrado County, the citizens converging at designated meeting points were seen in celebratory jubilant mood, dancing to their favorite campaign songs as if the UP Alliance had already won the November 14, 2023 election.
According to our splattering of reporters assigned around Montserrado County where the Unity Party Alliance closing runoff campaign kicked off, unlike the 2017 political campaign which saw majority of senior citizens making up the bulk of the turnout crowd, the Saturday runoff campaign witnessed a good number of youths, including students, business people and even members of the disadvantaged community popularly termed as zogoes, who were singing, dancing, and waving palm branches as they marched towards Broad Street where the official float slowly made its way uptown bearing former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and his entourage of political party officials who had recently endorsed the opposition Unity Party ticket.
Leading the crowd of marchers towards the official float, Montserrado County District #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah who was recently reelected; Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon; Montserrado County District #8 Representative-elect Prince Toles who dethroned his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) rival Acarous Gray; and many other powerhouses of the opposition Unity Party Alliance, moved majestically as they chanted anti-CDC songs, thumping their fists in the air with their fingers urging voters to cast their lot for for ‘Number 1’, as they whipped up emotive responses from the crowd of onlookers lining the principal streets of Monrovia.
Mounted on the Rescue Train float alongside Unity Party Standard Bearer Joseph Nyuma Boakai was a plethora of political party standard bearers who jubilantly thumped their fists in the air signaling “Number 1” as their preferred choice for the presidency.
ALCOP political leader Lusinee Kamara; Edward W. Appleton of Grassroot Development Movement (GDM) and Sheikh Kouyate of the Liberia First Movement (LFM) graciously mounted Ambassador Boakai’s float in a dignified show of support for the Rescue Mission.
Hailing the presence of the illustrious political actors who shared the platform with Ambassador Boakai when he mounted the float on Saturday, Unity Party National Chairman Luther Tarpeh said Liberia is better off with these men standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ambassador Boakai to move Liberia forward.
“These are men that are the true patriots of Liberia. These men chose to support the candidacy of Joseph Nyuma Boakai. They believe that with his leadership, Liberia is going to emerge out of the problems we are facing as a nation. I salute these men who chose country over money; because CDC offered them a lot of money, but they refused. They refused to bow down to the graven image of money and decided to put Liberia first. These are the kinds of political actors we want in our political space; people who are not concerned about themselves, but concerned about the development and the improvement of the lives of the people of Liberia,” Chairman Tarpeh stated emphatically.
Christiana Ford, a diehard JNB supporter and a businesswoman who graced the occasion, spoke to the media during the runoff closing campaign, expressing her support for Joseph Boakai because, like other businesspeople around the country, she is tired with the economic strangulation and the environmental menace facing Liberians nationwide.
“We are tired with the dirt in the street. I pay taxes to clean my community but the dirt is still in my street. If you say anything about Unity Party, we agree; but we want change,” she said.
“Just as we voted for Darius Dillon, we will support JNB because some of us supported Unity Party from the days of Madam Sirleaf,” Madam Ford continued.
Green Day Impressive Nationwide Closing
From Cape to Coast, the Green Day Runoff closing campaign lit up in an unprecedented fashion around the country, unlike the October 10, 2023 election. Filing from the field, our team of reporters disclosed how effectively and efficiently the opposition Unity Party Alliance used the short runoff campaign period to engage communities within the 15 political subdivisions about how to vote; and culminated the campaign on Saturday with massive activities that showcased their support and love for the JNB-JKK ticket.
“I wonder what would have happened if the Unity Party had mobilized and organized the voters like this during the October 10 national elections? From what we have seen now, this election is a done deal for Joe Boakai,” remarked Jimmy Jeeybo of Maryland County who confided in one of our reporter.
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