The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is certainly at a cross-road and does not necessarily yield the kind of influence and popularity among the masses that they once commanded. The visible division and downturn of the CDC administration is largely due to greed and the fight for political power among the men who were once the voice of the suffering masses.
As of the writing of this article and from the Hot Pepper’s investigation, owing to the widest division since the formation of the CDC there is no clear-cut agenda to tackle the most pressing issue of regaining the capital city, Monrovia, and its host, Montserrado. The quagmire and catch-22 situation is, the Chairman of the CDC, Mulbah Morlu, and his support-base have made it crystal clear that there will be no free lunch—meaning, no matter what level of influence that one has, all must pass through the CDC primaries.
Unfortunately, on the flipside, the group with the actual power and money, which is expected to finance the critical senatorial election, slated for December 8, 2020, wants a red-carpet reception for Minister Wilson Tarpeh while the party stalwarts want to throw their weight behind Representative Thomas Fallah who, if a primary is held, with the help of the likes of Senator Saah H. Joseph and Representative Acarious Gray, Chairman Morlu may just be able to turn the table in favor of Representative Thomas Fallah.
With Minister Wilson Tarpeh’s visible appearance at all the distributions of the COVID-19 food stimulus package and with the downtrodden masses being grateful for the life support, he might just be appreciated enough to give Senator Dillon a bloody nose. The uncertainty looms, without a clear agenda as to what is the actual game plan of the CDC administration as it relates to regaining Montserrado County and the Wilson Tarpeh agenda factor for a white ballot, the CDC is still far-fetched from reacquiring their influence over the masses in Montserrado County.
If Representative Thomas Fallah could stand down, which seems unlikely, giving the opportunity to Minister Wilson Tarpeh to contest—even though from all indications it seems an uphill task to win Senator Dillon—who wheels a lot of support within the CDC stronghold, the CDC may still have the opportunity to turn the table against Senator Dillon.
Unfortunately, this is not going to happen because the fight in the ranks of the CDC is not about the CDC remaining relevant but about the interest of a large group of individuals to acquire wealth, being distributed by the very committee that wants Minister Wilson Tarpeh to go on a white ballot.
The CDC primary is traditionally attended by delegates who have the requirements of voting. Normally, a senatorial candidate is elected by the party’s county leadership, which is made up of an executive committee (CEC), a women’s league, youth league and district coordinators. These party stalwarts report to their respective leaders who, too, report to the Executive Committee (EC) of the CDC, headed by the Chairman. One can argue that the Chairman command most, if not all, the loyalties of party stalwarts, who see themselves as members of the leadership structure through the influence and blessings of the Chairman.
Holding all factors constant, the Montserrado County leadership structure is expected to vote for the CDC candidate of Montserrado County. And with Chairman Morlu wheeling the loyalties of these delegates, one can simply tell why the CDC Chairman insists on everyone going through the primaries to get on the ticket of the CDC.
Besides the Chairman, the Chairman of the CDC Youth League is another powerful position, as the party is made up of mostly youths. Jefferson T. Koijee rose to prominence when he ascended to the Chairmanship of the CDC Youth League. Majority of the youths in the party look up to him for assistance when in need, seek his blessing when contesting for positions (even outside the CDC) and regards him as their generational leader.
With Youth Chairman Koijee aligning with the interest of Chairman Morlu for the upcoming primaries, it is like passing a camel through the hole of a needle for anyone to defeat that interest. This could possibly be the reason why the Deputy Commerce Minister, Jemima Wolokolie, recently took to the airwaves to descend on the Party Chairman and the Youth League Chairman for publicly showing support for Representative Thomas Fallah’s candidacy.
However, the party’s Standard Bearer, now President of the Republic of Liberia, George M. Weah, is seen as the single most important individual of the party, on whose image the party is gaining all the successes and fortunes. He is the only person with the voice to turn any decision or support around, as even the leaders of the party are of the belief that they are strong because of President Weah, who is naturally loved by the ordinary people that the party claim to stand for. Howbeit, at many times he remains silent on party issues and allows the party’s leadership to take seize of the situation. In fact, up till now, the position of President Weah is not yet clear as to which side of the divide he takes interest in for the party’s senatorial candidate. Inner circle members of the CDC are saying that the revolt is not against Minister Tarpeh, who is seen from a distance as a part of the privileged few and ruling class that constitute the committee. They revealed to this paper that the revolt squarely has to do with blocking the business interest of Chairman Morlu, Senator Joseph, Representative Gray and others, who labored tirelessly to bring a multi-billion dollar company to Liberia but were royally screwed by the very men who constitute the committee. This is the reason why the CDC in-house fight is not going away anytime soon.