Senator Abraham Darius Dillon of Montserrado says the desire by Unity Party Political Leader and former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai to contest the 2023 election on the ticket of Collaborating Political Parties is welcoming.
Senator Dillon who is the Vice Chairman for Political Affairs of the Liberty Party, one of the members of collaborating parties that comprising the CPP, also clarified that the statement by VP Boakai of the UP that he will vie for the Presidency of Liberia in 2023 does not undermine the growth and unity of the CPP.
Dillon’s statement is in reaction to statement made by former Vice President Boakai to the effect that he will contest the 2023 presidential election on the ticket of the CPP.
Addressing the 59th Convocation Program of the Cutting University in Suakoko Bong County on Friday, March 12, 2012, Ambassador Boakai declared to the gathering amid thunderous cheers from his supporters, “…in 2023, will be vying for the Presidency of our beloved country.”
He made the statement when he was advising the students to “Stay focus, keep your eyes on the prize, and treat your experiences in life like a marathon (you are in it for the long haul).
The UP political leader said “when it gets cloudy sometimes and you feel like quitting, remember my life story: A boy who walked from Wasonga in Foyah District to Monrovia; graduated from the College of West Africa and the University of Liberia; without being boastful, went on to become Vice President of Liberia,”
In Dr. Boakai’s speech in which he declared his intention for the Presidency come 2023, he took ample space to address the correlation between education and national development, and said in the past, development documents have been crafted into education plans and policies to improve educational governance and management.
He further took a swipe at the government when he stated further that the past three years, it has been noted for poor governance, especially politically and economically governance, adding that this overall poor governance is affecting the control of the nation’s education sector, including Higher Education.
“The general patterns being observed are that poor governance and mismanagement of meager resources available to the education sector have been fueled by the lack of proper accountability bordering on corruption”, Dr. Boakai said.
Under CDC-led Government, the political leader of the former ruling Unity Party observed that in view of continuity in governance, he was not sure that the shift has been made from quick impact interventions to sustained, strategic, and long-term sector development in higher education.
Just after the pronouncement of former VP Boakai came to public limelight, it was welcomed by Senator Dillon on his Facebook page where he considered the declaration baby Ambassador Boakai as a right which any other political leader could use in the CPP
In Senator Dillon’s reaction to the quest by Dr.Boakai for to contest the Liberian presidency during the anticipated 2023 election, the Montserrado County Senator stressed that it is VP Boakai’s democratic right, and that such right must be respected. He further said CPP is not limited or restricted to any particular person or group of persons, and that it is a democratic body of political institutions converging under a single umbrella.
“Like JNB, any other Political Leader of CPP to include Nyonblee of LP, Cummings of ANC, Urey of ALP and or any Member of CPP is allowed to express their aspirations and desire to contest. The Framework Document that binds the Collaborating Political Parties together allows and embraces competition”. Senator Dillon said.
In the end, according to Senator Dillon, CPP will have a SINGLE slate ticket to represent all of the constituent political parties under the CPP umbrella; and they commit to be there to institutionally support the Ticket when the time comes.
Meanwhile, the public declaration of Dr. Boakai that he will contest in 2023 may not sound new to key political watchers since he has been strategizing to still actualizing his dream of becoming President one day, after his defeat in 2017 to President George Manneh Weah.
What might have added impetus to his quest came in with the formation of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) which over time has been reaching deep into the hearts of Liberians. The recent electoral fortune of the grand collaboration during the last Special Senatorial or Midterm Election further ignited hope that if he finally gets the presidential ticket, he may definitely win the race.
Many political pundits see the former vice president as the presumptive presidential candidate of the CPP at least speaking from the pool of other possible candidates who have express desire to contest the primaries.
However, no matter who are all flagging their intentions for the CPP for the 2023 race, the determination obviously lies with the framework document of the CPP which provides for a convention of the collaboration for the selection of a candidate for a seat of the collaboration parties.
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