- Nat Nyuan Bayjay
Source: FrontPage Africa
Monrovia -
Days pending the certification of the Unity Party (UP), the Liberia Action Party (LAP) and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP) merger were categorized by diverse public opinions, the most dominant of which was the concern that the merger points to the country’s possible re-slip into what many think will rekindle the past old dark days of a one party system.
The Chairman of the merger, after receiving the certification of the merger from the National Elections Commission (NEC), told a team of journalists at the party’s national headquarters in Monrovia that the
country has had what he called the extremes of both the one party system and the multi-party system.
In his attempt to dismiss the perception that the coming together of political parties as alliances and mergers means the reawakening of the country’s past one party system, Councilor Varney Sherman, while describing the one-party era as unfortunate, observed that the introduction of the multi-party system in the mid-1980’s also went to the extreme that led to the country’s proliferation of parties that numbered over 20.
He noted that it was unfortunate to have one party state at the time but the manner in which so many parties sprang out when multi-party democracy came was alarming which led to another extreme.
Sherman: “The experience is that we moved from one extreme to another extreme. One party state was one extreme. Then, when they said multi-party state, we moved to some 20 parties. That was another extreme.”
The True Whig Party (TWP) ruled supreme during the country’s first 133 years of independence until the bloody 1980 coupe. In the intervening years of 1980-1984, all political party activities were suspended by
the military junta.
The country’s return to anticipated civilian rule in 1985 saw the lifting of suspended political party activities. Multi-party democracy was first introduced which saw that year’s elections being contested
by four parties, the first of its kind in the country’s more than century old history.
Then military ruler, the late Samuel Kanyon Doe’s People’s Redemption Council (PRC) transformation to the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), the late Edward Beyan Kesselly’s Unity Party, the late
Jackson E. Doe’s Liberia Action Party and the late Gabriel Kpolleh’s Liberia Unification Party were the four parties that contested for the most contentious elections in Liberia’s electoral history.
The three deceased Liberian politicians, Doe, Kpolleh and Kessselly had envisioned the merging of the three political entities during the 1985 presidential elections that were believed to have been ragged by
former President Doe.
“It was a good thing that we had just four political parties contesting the 1985 elections. But that has burst into over 20 parties now”, Sherman stated.
“We are not going back to one party state. That was an unfortunate experience that we had”. He furthered that the multiple of political parties in the country signaled division. “It is an indication that we’re not united because it is not a good thing that a country of about 3.5 million people to have over 20 parties contesting for a single presidential seat.”
“Just take the 1985 platforms for all the political parties that contested. You’ll find that every one of them had the same platforms”, he added.
Comparing the United States’ two major political parties with over 300 million inhabitants which he thinks Liberia needs to emulate, he continued: “Our merger will not lead this country to one party rule. I will hope that the other 18 or more political parties will emulate our example.” Earlier, NEC’s Chairman James Fromayan during Wednesday’s certification ceremony urged the other parties to consider the possibility of forming mergers, coalitions and alliances that will enhance the country’s democratic process.
Fromayan: “Towards this end, we want to call on all political parties to emulate the example of the three political parties through the formation of mergers, alliances and coalitions in a more committed and
dedicated manner.”
Keen followers of Liberia’s political landscape have argued that opposition political parties continue to squander their chances of ascending to state power as the multi-party system has diminished their power to restrain the ruling party from usurping absolute power. They cite the 1985 general elections as a case in point because, according to them, the many parties that competed in the election resulted into the situation where there was no strong opposition party to the incumbent Doe.
The Special 1997 Elections were the first post-war general elections which was a replay of the ones held 12 years earlier-featuring a multiplicity of parties which Charles Taylor went on to win simply
because his rivalries failed to form any formidable coalition or alliance. Thirteen political parties contested.
The general elections of 2005 were again a replay of the 1997 general elections that featured a multiplicity of parties which ushered in President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf after 22 political parties contested
for a vacant presidential seat.
Political pundits are still arguing that there remains no viable opposition party to Sirleaf ahead of next year’s elections until a stronger and formidable coalition or alliance of leading opposition parties is consolidated other than the crack-prone newly formed Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) that comprises of football legend George Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Councilor
Winston Tubman’s Liberia National Union (LINU), former President Taylor’s National Patriotic Party (NPP) and former warlord Sekou Damate Conneh’s Progressive Democratic Party (PRODEMP).
