As Boakai Remains Indecisive About Running Mate: “Costa Best Suited For Vice Standard Bearership”

The 2023 general and presidential elections are six months and few days from now, but major contenders for the presidency against President George M. Weah and his Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), including Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai of the Unity Party (UP), Alexander B. Cummings of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) and Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe of the Liberian People Party (LPP), are all yet to announce their vice presidential candidates, who may be subjected to public scrutiny.

   For now, public attention is mainly drawn to Ambassador Boakai and the UP, as the oldman is considered the forerunner to President Weah. Howbeit, amidst the contention that he is delaying the announcement of his running mate, which could derail the prospects of his campaign agenda, Ambassador Boakai still remains adamant on not announcing anyone, allegedly due to his indecisiveness about who to make his running mate.

   Recently, the rumor about Henry P. Costa being tipped for the vice standard bearer position of the UP was on top of the news bulletin, with folks from the party expressing mixed reactions.

   There were two names being tipped for the position: Senator Jeremiah K. Koung, Standard Bearer of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) and Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, Political Leader of the Liberty Party (LP). It was also rumored that the Standard Bearer of the Vision for Liberia Transformation (VOLT), Jeremiah Whapoe, and the Standard Bearer of the All Liberian Party (ALP), Benoni Urey, are also having their eyes on the position.

   Due to Ambassador Boakai’s apparent lackadaisical attitude toward making the crucial decision, youths of the party are taking the gavel of authority to project the individual they believe has been tested and prepared for the job.

   Supporters of the talkshow host, Henry Costa, have insisted that that a Boakai-Costa ticket is the best combination for the party, with one person representing the views and aspiration of the older generation and the other the young generation. They claimed that, as young as Costa is, no one has shaped the view of opposition politics under President Weah’s regime as he has done, which they say earned him a space in the elite body politics of the country.

   They recalled the unforgettable June 7, 2019 protest organized by the Council of Patriots (CoP), headed by Costa, which brought about the largest [opposition] political gathering in the country under the Weah regime. Since then, Costa has been regarded as the voice and hero of the opposition community.

   A release issued over the weekend by the CoP and read by their Secretary General, Joseph Vallai, who is also a member of the Unity Party (UP), stated that blending a 78-year-old Joseph Boakai with a 41-year-old firebrand Costa will send a sharp wave across the country. 

   According to them, it will be hypocritical to be after the youthful votes in the country but at the same time think the young people have no space in the leadership of the country. “Losing Costa over this bickering will be the worst decision the UP and Boakai will be making,” they sounded.

   They noted that the factors that make a Boakai-Costa ticket formidable are so many, with youthfulness being key, given the voting population today in Liberia.

   They highlighted that Costa has positioned himself as a force to reckon with in shaping public opinions, and that his pick at this time in the history of the country is something that will meet public celebration.

   So far, the group in support of a Boakai-Costa ticket is arguably the first to nominate a candidate to contest alongside Ambassador Boakai, providing substantive reasons for doing so. The rest has been rumors that have been downplayed by party officials.

   However, when the Hot Pepper contacted high-ranking officials of the Unity Party (UP) about Costa being considered as a running mate to Ambassador Boakai, the paper was informed that the former Vice President was not looking in Costa’s direction. They disclosed that Costa is not even among the names placed on the table for in-house scrutiny.  

   They noted that the Unity Party Standard Bearer is in no rush to announce his running mate, and that the decision is for Ambassador Boakai alone to decide.