Nimba County Electoral District #4 Representative Ernest M. Manseah, has questioned purpose of the recent opposition roundtable. The opposition roundtable meeting brought on board, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the Alternation National Congress (ANC), Citizens Movement for Change (CMC), the All Liberian Party (ALP), the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), and other prominent political actors. Manseah demanded clarity on whether the gathering was to genuinely hold the government accountable, or to regroup for another attempt at capturing state power? In his opinion on Monday, September 7, Manseah said, the meeting raised questions as to who was the one that called for a stronger, and more credible opposition capable of holding the government accountable? He specifically questioned the participation of opposition figures, including ANC Alexander B. Cummings, ALP Benoni Urey, CMC Musa Bility, and PMC Simeon Freeman. “I struggle to understand why figures such as Cummings, Urey, Bility, and Freeman will agree to a meeting with the CDC.” Manseah argued that the gathering becomes particularly difficult to reconcile with the harsh criticism, many of the same political actors previously directed at the administration of former President George Oppong Weah and the CDC. He recalled the period when the Unity Party (UP), ALP, Liberty Party (LP), and ANC, operated under the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) banner. At the time, the CPP accused the Weah-Taylor administration of “governance failures.” Manseah: “Those criticisms included killings auditors, the misused of state resources, the importation of drugs, violations of the rule of law, and other governance concerns.” He said, the CPP’s “Rescue” message emerged from those criticisms, and later became a central campaign theme of the UP after divisions within the CPP led several parties, and factions, including the ANC, ALP, and Bility’s LP faction to leave. Against that backdrop, Manseah questioned a change to justify sitting with the same political establishment that was previously disparaged. “This leads me to ask as to what has changed about Mr. Weah? More importantly, what is the purpose of the new opposition gathering?” Manseah wants Liberians to get a clear explanation of whether the meeting was about accountability, political cooperation, or simply, another attempt to reorganize forces ahead of future elections.
He meanwhile, called on the leaderships of ANC, CMC, ALP, and MPC, to distance themselves from the CDC if they want to convince Liberians that their opposition is principled, rather than being politically motivated.
