Ambassador George M. Weah Urges Transparency in the Conduct of Elections 2011

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR GEORGE MANNEH WEAH
ON THE OCCASION OF THE CONVENTION OF CONGRESS FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (CDC)
U.S.A. CHAPTER

Executive Members of CDC, Mr. Secretary General, Members of the International community here present, Observers, CDCians, Distinguished guests, Ladies & Gentleman.

I am honored to witness and participate in the 2nd National Convention of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) U.S.A. Chapter. It is with high esteem that I stand before you to highlight the plight of our people and emphasize the relevance of continuing our quest for change; a change which can only be attained through a free, fair and transparent democratic process. The remarks, I am about to deliver will border on combined views of our great party as we prepare for the October 2011 presidential and legislative elections.

The Congress for Democratic Change was registered as a political party in May of 2005 and in less than six months contested and emerged first in the initial round of the October 2005 presidential and legislative elections. For the sake of peace, we submitted to the results of the runoff elections despite numerous discrepancies. Over the years, CDC has remained the most popular party in Liberia sweeping several bi-elections; with the most recent being the November 2009 senatorial by-elections for Montserrado County. The Montserrado County bi-election was a test for the upcoming 2011 presidential elections which proved that with the right strategy in place, proper management and unflinching commitment, the incumbent with all the advantages of state resources at its disposal is still unlikely to win.

Contrary to rumors, my recent trip to Monrovia has strengthened my resolve to lead the quest for change we so justly seek for our people and has NOT been a point of negotiation with architects of destruction. Have we as a party had internal problems? Yes! Many fueled from the outside and a few internally formulated. However, through joint efforts, we have all risen to the challenge and resolved problems that had potential to weaken our position within the 2011 elections. Our challenges have strengthened our resolve to build a great party, restore hope and secure a better future for our people.

Change has become a necessity and we must demand a transparent democratic process. Transparency must be demanded in its totality (electoral, administrative accountability, resource distribution, etc) because all processes and implementations relating to the government of Liberia must be in the interest of its people and encompass the ideology of full and total commitment to the well being of the citizens of Liberia. It is regrettable that the government of Madam Sirleaf has chosen to serve a few instead of all.

My fellow partisans, it is now that I need you to help me propel and achieve these goals through the political process.

Let me take this opportunity to inform you of a few things that are occurring to help move us forward in our preparation for the 2011 elections:

1.The National Executive Committee of the party has constituted a standing committee and established several ad hoc committees.

2.Joint stakeholders and the National Executive Committee hold regular consultative meetings. An example of such consultative meetings was the one held in late April in Accra, Ghana during which the party considered various options for fund raising; explored the possibility of recruitment of a professionally renowned political consultancy firm to assist with strategy; in addition to agreeing upon a policy framework for collaboration with opposing political parties.

3.During my visit to Liberia last month, consultative meetings were organized and held with leaders of at least seven opposition political parties who enthusiastically welcomed the forging of collaboration with the CDC for the 2011 elections. We also made contact with several eminent Liberian politicians who are resolved to identify with our cause.

4.A special CDC ad hoc committee on collaboration is working to bring other opposition political parties and eminent politicians into the fold and consolidate the collaboration.

The focus now is strategy formulation, fund raising, strengthening the party’s structure in the counties and mobilization through increased membership.

Fellow partisans and distinguished guests, this briefing now brings us to the question of what CDC-USA role should be in contributing to the achievement of these objectives in preparation of 2011. We see CDC USA Chapter as strategically placed to contribute on all frontiers but perhaps could be most effective in fund raising and lobbying with influential US politicians and officials to expose the immense shortcomings of the current Liberian Administration. The incumbent is very unpopular at home but has somehow managed to achieve much respect abroad. Your greatest task would be to meet with eminent American officials and congressional leaders to provide proof of the immense corruption, evidence of fueling the 15 years civil war and acute mismanagement that characterized this government. The world needs to know these things and someone has to tell them and you are most ideally placed to do just that!

You must tell the American people and their government with convincing evidence, how the Threshold Bill is being manipulated by the Liberian government to curtail political participation to the disadvantage of the opposition political parties

You must tell them with convincing evidence, how the TRC report is being suppressed by this government to avoid punishment of perpetrators of human right abuses, including President Sirleaf herself who is indicted in the said report

You must tell them with convincing evidence, how corruption is endemic in our society and that despite several audit findings hardly any official of government is being prosecuted

You must tell them with convincing evidence, why the Poverty Reduction Strategy failed and how many more Liberians, particularly little children, go to bed hungry due to mismanagement of government resources

You must tell them with convincing evidence, how this government spends millions of tax payers’ money in image dressing to gain international acceptability while majority of its people live in abject poverty

You must tell them with convincing evidence, that this government has failed to and lacks the capacity to reconcile Liberians, and that the hopelessness which accompanied the civil war is again sinking deeply into our society

You must demonstrate to them with convincing evidence, that the only alternative is regime change and that the CDC offers the best grass root approach to sustaining peace and providing improved living standard for all Liberians

Our people are crying out for us. Liberia is shouting for progress. Basic necessities are deprived to many and uncertainty lingers in the homes of our people while a select few have excess. As Standard Bearer of our great party, I acknowledge that it is a very critical time in our party’s history and I want to take this time to welcome the new corps of officers and congratulate them while saying “Thank You” to the outgoing officers. I urge everyone to blend this transition into our party’s ideology of change, our mission of possibility for all, and our goal to make Liberia a progressive and prosperous nation for all.

May the Lord bless you all and guide us in our plight for a new Liberia.

THANK YOU