CDC ‘Wants’ All

By Reuben Sei Waylaun: r.waylaun@newrepublicliberia.com

The governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has revealed its ambition of winning all of the 15 senatorial seats across the country in the impending December 8, 2020 elections.

It did not give any details on how it intends to win all the seats.

Liberians are expected to go to the poll on December 8, 2020 to elect new 15 senators who will correct the constitutional number to 30 senators.

Despite the party’s ambition of winning all fifteen seats, insiders say the main target of the party is to reclaim Montserrado County, a place it considers as its ‘stronghold’ from the opposition community now represented by Senator Abraham Darius Dillon in the Liberian Senate.

However, sources close to the incumbent Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon say the lawmaker has tightened grip on the county and is well determined to defeat the ruling party.

The governing party has since announced a nationwide primary for would-be-candidates on its ticket to take place from July 15-30, 2020.

To ensure the full participation of partisans in the process, the party says 33,900 delegates are expected to participate in the pending nationwide primaries.

The CDC has since divided the entire country into six regions for the primaries.

The regions include Region I (Montserrado & Margibi Counties), Region II (River Gee & Maryland Counties), Region III (Grand Gedeh, Nimba & Lofa Counties), Region IV (Grand Bassa, Rivercess & Bong Counties), Region V (Grand Kru & Sinoe Counties), Region VI (Gbarpolu, Bomi & Grand Cape Mount Counties) respectively.

Each aspirant vying to contest on the ticket of the party will pay US$1,500.00 as registration for their participation in the primaries according to the organizing committee.

The Organizing Committee of the primaries headed by Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee made the disclosure during its maiden media engagement at the headquarters of the party on Friday July 3, 2020.

According to the committee, each of the 17 electoral districts in Montserrado County will send 1,500 delegates accumulating to 25,000.

The committee said delegates to the Primaries will be determined by the Primaries Organizing Committee (PoC) for the various electoral districts of the fifteen (15) counties.

The PoC further said the delegates will be drawn from the three constituent political parties of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) on the basis of equal distribution.

This, the committee said, each member party of the CDC will have equal delegates across the seventy-three (73) electoral districts.

Besides Montserrado, the rest of the other fourteen counties will send 150 delegates per electoral district.

Nimba 1,350 delegates (nine districts), Lofa 750 delegates (5 districts), Bong 1,050 (seven districts), Bomi 450 (three districts), Gbarpolu 450 (three districts), Grand Cape Mount 450 (three districts), Grand Gedeh 450 (three districts), Grand Kru 300 (two districts), Margibi 750 (five districts), Grand Bassa 750 (five districts), Maryland 450 (Three districts), Sinoe 450 (three districts), RiverGee 450 (three districts), Rivercess 300 (two districts) respectively.

The organizing Committee in its guidelines read by Emmanuel Swen, also called on all aspirants to abide by all guidelines set by the National Elections Commission (NEC) as well as the National Code of Conduct.

Speaking at the media engagement, the chairman of the committee, Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Koijee assured partisans and Liberians that the process will be transparent and the party is well determined to bring out the best and suitable candidates following the primaries.

Mayor Koijee who is also the chairman of the National Youth League of the CDC said, would be candidates will be people that suit what he calls the ‘standards of the CDC’. He however failed to state what the standard of the CDC is.

He also said those vying to contest on the ticket of the party should be members of the Congress for Democratic Change and the Coalition for Democratic Change.

The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is the conglomeration of three political parties. They include the National Patriotic Party (NPP), Liberia’s People Democratic Party (LPDP) and the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).

“The Primary Committee will produce the best for the senatorial elections. We will produce candidates that will be politically palatable. We been on this road, it is not strange to us. We will not let you down. If we made error before, you can be assure that men are here now. Our decision will not be made in high places, but will be made in the public,” Chairman Koijee said.

Senators seeking reelections are: Sando Dazoe Johnson (NPP, Bomi (2011), Henry Willie Yallah, Bong-NDC (2011), Armah Zolu Jallah, Gbarpolu, NPP (2011), Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, Grand Bassa, LP (2013), Alphonso G. Gaye, Grand Gedeh, UP  (2011), Peter Sonpon Coleman, Grand Kru, CDC (2011), George Tamba Tengbeh, Lofa, UP (2011), Oscar A. Cooper, Margibi, UP (2011), H. Dan Morais, Maryland, NPP (2011), Abraham Darius Dillon, Montserrado, LP (2019), Thomas Semandahn Grupee, Nimba, NUDP (2011), Matthew N. Jaye, RiverGee, Independent (2011), Dallas Advertus V. Gueh, Rivercess, LDP, (2011) Augustine Chea, Sinoe, CDC and Victor Watson of Grand Cape Mount (2019) respectively.

It can be recalled that only two of the 15 senators that re-contested in 2014 senatorial elections were reelected by their people.

They include Senators Prince Yormie Johnson of Nimba and Jewel Howard Taylor of Bong County, now Vice President of Liberia.