AHEAD OF 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS
Monrovia, Liberia – Opposition Unity Party 2023 has accused the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of engaging in violent provocation during the start of the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections campaign.
Amos Tweh, the party’s national secretary general said, on April 4, 2023, the CDC and more than 20 political parties in Margibi County signed the Farmington’s Declaration, pledging their support for a peaceful electoral process. He noted that the Unity Party anticipates that the CDC will uphold the principles set forth in the Farmington Declaration.
He claimed that the recent violent action of the CDC on the first day of the campaign, involving a casket bearing a mocking portrait of Unity Party standard bearer, not only confirms the Unity Party Alliance’s position that the CDC lacks maturity and has no clear message for its attempts at reelection but also clearly violates the nonviolent agreement.
The UP secretary general argued that the CDC’s violent actions have constantly defined its operations from its founding and that, in its six years in power, the party has not carried out desirable policies for the welfare of the Liberian people.
Tweh asserted that by parading with a casket on the first day of the campaign, the CDC has lost the people of Liberia’s trust and confidence because governments in other countries typically present the advancements they have made over time and lay out their development policies.
He argued that using a casket as a sign is really disturbing since it symbolizes death, and the Unity Party sympathizes with the pain of the Liberian people while the CDC appears to take great pleasure in it and even wishes for more deaths.
The UP Secretary General stated that for the previous six years, the administration has not been accountable for its management of the nation, choosing instead to engage in unprovoked acts of violence and tamper with the country’s election system. Furthermore, the electorates in Liberia are looking for different policy recommendations to solve their complex problems.
Tweh argued that the CDC’s failures are apparent in the rise in poverty, rising healthcare costs, lack of access to education, lack of adequate and safe drinking water, and erosion of governance, rule of law, and basic social services, which leaves hospitals without basic medications and schools without necessary supplies, among other things. Civil servants have also suffered salary cuts, lost their dignity, and are unable to pay for their children’s tuition.
At the same time, the UP secretary general is urging the international community and other development partners to closely observe the 2023 campaigning activities taking place all across the nation with the goal of preserving the peace.
This is not the first-time supporters of the CDC have paraded a casket along the main street in Monrovia; in 2011, CDC supporters carried a casket containing portraits of the former president of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
As part of the JNB-JKK development concept known as ARREST (Agriculture, Road, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation/Health, and Tourism), according to Amos Tweh, if Amb. Joseph Boakai is elected president, he will prioritize restoring the dignity of government employees, medical professionals, and teachers.
In addition to urging residents to maintain their composure, Tweh vowed a nonviolent campaign and stated that he would keep the International Community’s development partners informed of the CDC’s violent acts.
Reported by: Joseph N. Kerkula
Email: jnkerkula@gmail.com
Contact: +231777376826
