Opposition Collaborating Political Party (CPP), a conglomeration of four political parties—All Liberian Party (ALP), Liberty Party (LP), Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the Unity Party (UP)—political leaders have clashed over their recent decision to extend the tenure of the Chairperson, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, of the Liberty Party for one month.
Recently, the political leaders of the four Collaborating Political Party, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, Alexander B. Cummings, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and Benoni Urey met in Monrovia and discussed several issues that could keep the collaboration together, including the extension of the tenure of the current Chairperson for one month.
According to the CPP framework document, political leaders of each member political party should chair the collaboration for eight months each ahead of the 2023 presidential and general elections. Since the formation of the CPP, Urey, Cummings have chaired the collaboration and the tenure of Senator Lawrence, who is currently chairing CPP, is expected to expire. If the framework is anything to go by, the rotational chairmanship should go to Ambassador Boakai after the expiration of the current Chairperson.
Amidst the recent meeting held by the four political leaders, the Political Leader of the ANC has written the Chairperson of CPP, Senator Lawrence, informing her about the violation of the framework document which forbids the extension of the tenure for the Chairperson. According to him, the framework document needs to be respected and, therefore, there should be no extension of the current Chairperson’s tenure.
In response to the ANC Political Leader, the Political Leader of ALP, Benoni Urey, said the decision to extend the tenure of the Chairperson for one month was an agreed-upon decision by the four political leaders of the CPP during the recent meeting. According to Urey, he sees no violation of the framework document as stated by Cummings.
Of recent, there has been internal struggle of power as to who heads the CPP come 2023. Unity Party Political Leader, Joseph Boakai, and the ANC Political Leader, Alexander Cummings, are the two within the collaboration vying for the standard bearer position ahead of the general elections.