By Trouble Suah
Africa-Press – Liberia. Presidential candidate Tiawan Saye Gongloe says the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the Unity Party (UP) should be held accountable “if there are losses of lives and destruction of properties in the country due to electoral violence.
Gongloe noted that both parties have been instigating tendencies in the public and social media space — a situation he feels will get worse as the elections’ date draws closer.
He reminded the leaders and supporters of two political parties when he held a press conference in Monrovia over the weekend that Liberians have suffered too long as a result of the over 14 years of conflict that led to the loss of lives and the destruction of millions of dollars worth of properties.
Gongloe’s reminder came following the August 10 incident allegedly involving followers or supporters of CDC and UP around the Vamoma House at Wroto Town and Tubman Boulevard Junction in Sinkor District in Electoral District 9, Montserrado County.
He told the media in Monrovia to ask the religious community, both Christian and Muslim, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, and others, to speak out on the trending national issues now before it gets too late for the country and those residing within its borders.
Gongloe then called on the George Weah and Joseph Boakai camps to conduct themselves in a responsible manner during these electoral periods so as not to plunge the country into a round of violence because Liberians have had enough of it.
There and then, scores of people got wounded, allegedly from stone-throwing between the two groups but the cause or reason for the chaos is not yet known. However, the CDC and UP blamed or accused each other of being responsible for the violence on day 5 of the official campaigning in the October polls.
Gongloe is therefore urging both leaders to exercise a strong degree of leadership over their followers and supporters of their respective political parties not to drag the country back to another round of violence or conflict that could lead to bloodshed.
He noted that the current wave of happening daily plus the war of words between Weah and Boakai but by extension their supporters of their political parties who were allegedly involved physical clashes, have the potential of putting fear in the locals and investors desiring of doing business in the country.
As the county went toward the October polls, Gongloe continued to speak out on national issues because what happened last Thursday has sent fear in the ordinary people and it undermines the Farmington Declaration which does not augur well for the country.
He said whether the violence is in any of them favor or not, they should not support it in any form and manner because by doing so it shall undermine the peace and stability of the country stating that violence has taught Liberians a lesson.
“Every leader or partisans of a political party should take into consideration that more than 300,000 people died in the country during the course of the 14 years civil war. Therefore, they should not remind us of their followers or supporters engaging in violence,” Gongloe reflected.
He recalled his visitation to various political parties’ headquarters in recent time thereby demonstrating that despite the disagreement amongst the politicians, politics is not about “enmity” or “enemy ship” but a competition of ideas as Liberia is not a trophy for any would-be winner of the October polls.
Gongloe went further that Liberians must jealously guide the peace the international community helped to restore to the country but at the same time, condemned the violence stating that those involved were reckless, irresponsible and insensitive to the country’s ugly past.
“Therefore both the present and past governing political parties owe it to Liberia and its people to make sure that peace prevails during these electioneering periods because no amount of police we have in the street can do, if we the politicians do not speak out on what is happening,” he noted.
Before the start of the campaigning, local and international community or stakeholders including the religious and civil society organizations, traditional rulers, women and youth groups as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), United Nations (UN) amongst others have been calling issue-based, and not hate language (speech) canvassing for votes.
Source: Liberian Observer
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