Liberia: Mayor Koijee Bitter over Boakai’s Win

Jefferson Koijee, the Secretary General of the outgoing ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, has accused the opposition Unity Party of “stealing” the November 14 runoff elections.

“We are not here to bring war, unlike (President-elect) Boakai, who threatened to end the country if he does not win the elections,” Koijee, the Mayor of Monrovia City, said in an address at the party headquarters on November 22.

“The CDC maintains that these elections were not won but stolen,” he added. “Even though President Weah, our standard bearer, had conceded defeat before the final results were announced.”

Koijee's accusation, made without any evidence, comes as Weah had conceded defeat earlier than expected when it became clear he would not win the runoff elections. 

The President eventually lost the elections, gathering 793,914 votes, constituting 49.36%, while Boakai received 814,481 votes, constituting 50.64%.

In his address to his party supporters, Koijee noted that the outgoing ruling party had no intention of “taking part” in any government formed by the opposition Unity Party, which he says is less than 1%.

The President’s “individual magnanimity,” according to Koijee, is sufficient for the Unity Party, which he says stands in contrast to “President-elect Boakai's statement,” who had in the past claimed that “if CDC had manipulated the polls, Liberia would have ended.”

He claimed that records show that the outgoing ruling party remains the true definition of peace and democracy in the country, while the Unity Party is not, as they are on record threatening the country's peace while campaigning for the presidency. 

Contrary to Koijee’s understanding of Boakai, it was the same Boakai who, having lost the runoff election in 2017, declared that he would do nothing to cause harm and bloodshed to Liberians. Thus, he accepted the results, albeit using the legal process to convey any claims the Unity Party had of electoral impropriety. 

Meanwhile, Koijee has debunked his involvement in the sad incident that occurred at the headquarters of the Unity Party on Monday.

In the night hours of November 20, a vehicle rammed among jubilant partisans of the UP at its headquarters in Monrovia, leaving at least three dead and several others severely injured.

He outlined many false allegations levied against his character in the past by members of the opposition community without a single evidence shown to justify these malicious claims.

Koijee wonders at the rationale behind those allegations by some unscrupulous individuals as a result of political reasons.

Koijee indicated that those who usually make reckless comments against his personality are yet to be rebuked due to their political alignment with the accusers.

“They believe Koijee is the gatekeeper and they must get him, but if they can't get him, they must malign his character,” he said.

He, however, condemned the sad incident at the UP headquarters on the grounds that no person’s life deserves to be taken away but maintained that the facts must be exposed.

Jefferson Koijee questioned the involvement of Gregory Coleman, Abraham Kromah, and Sam Gaye in investigating the perpetrator when they were not in authority.

Koijee also noted that the evil thinkers are also evildoers, accusing the Unity Party of endangering its own partisans.

Koijee has, however, expressed grave concern over the involvement of those ex-top officials of the former Unity Party regime in the presence of the Liberian security sector.

The Unity Party has yet to give an official response, even though they were contacted.