Voters’ roll update: Liberia opposition goes to court

Alexander Cummings is leader of the CPP
Photo: westafricanjournalmagazine.com/

Liberia’s main opposition group, the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) says it will on Friday file a writ of “prohibition or cancellation” with the country’s supreme court against an ongoing Voters Roll Update (VRU) process.

The CPP, together with another opposition block, the Rainbow Alliance, made this known in a press conference on Wednesday in Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

The CPP is a grouping of the country’s four main opposition parties: Alternative National Congress (ANC), Liberty Party (LP), Unity Party (UP) and All Liberian Party (ALP).

Movement for Economic Empowerment and Vision for Liberia Transformation are part of the newly-formed Rainbow Alliance.

CPP Chairman Alexander B. Cummings, also political leader of the ANC, told the press that on Friday partisans and political leaders of the CPP will assemble and march with their team of lawyers to the Temple of Justice in central Monrovia to file the case.

Cumming said the ongoing VRU exercise is fraudulent and not credible to be used during the scheduled December 8 senatorial elections.

He noted that the CPP offered to provide computer experts to the National Elections Commission (NEC) to help with the cleaning-up exercise of the voters’ roll but that this and other recommendations were rejected by the NEC.

He added that the prospect of a peaceful election depends on the tenets of democracy and the respect for the rule of law in Liberia, noting that what is being observed in the ongoing VRU process, where voters are being trucked nationwide, leaves more to be desired.

Cummings intimated that up to last year NEC took no steps to adhere to the 2017 mandate of the Supreme Court to improve the voter’s roll despite the CPP’s offer of help.

“CPP have however realized that the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission are all members of the ruling party and we cannot accept that,” he said.

Cummings indicated that the CPP will make sure to inform Liberians that the governing party intends to rig the election, adding that this is anti-peace and unacceptable.

On reports that foreigners are involved in the VRU process, the CPP Chairman urged NEC to put into place a citizenship verification exercise.

He alleged that part of the ongoing VRU process was being conducted inside Sierra Leone. He called it troubling and wants it halted.

Backing their chairman were other leaders of the CPP: Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence of the Liberty Party, Benoni Urey of the All Liberian Party and former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party .

Also speaking was Reginald Goodridge, chairman of the Rainbow Alliance.

He noted that they must all act together on what is unfolding now because the alleged irregularities are not just against the interests of one party or group but Liberia and its people.

“We have major problem what cause us to cross the line. We here to support your effort against the violation of the constitution because there are lot of missteps including the planned referendum which if we are not careful could purge the country,” Goodridge added.

Throble Suah, Monrovia, Liberia