It was on Saturday, May 13, 2015, when the People of Lofa, the home county of Liberia’s newly elected President Joseph Boakai petitioned him to seek the Presidency of Liberia.
The late Chief Musa Kamara read the petition on behave of the people of Lofa.
According to the petitioners their decision was drawn from the fact that Mr. Boakai served the country in many capacities with distinction and would do better as president of Liberia.
Mr. Boakai accepted the petition from his kinsman to vie for the highest office after the tenure of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
He eventually contested and lost to populist soccer star George Weah.
But just under six years, Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party have made a dramatic return to power beating the man who ousted them.
Boakai won with 50.64 percent of the vote, against 49.36 percent of the vote for former international football star Weah, National Electoral Commission Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah announced on Monday, November 21, 2023.
Boakai won by a margin of just 20,567 votes.
President Weah won the first round of the election with a little over 7,000 votes margin.
The Victory for the UP means the Party becomes the first former ruling Party in Liberia to regain power since 1876.
Mr. Weah conceded defeat on Friday evening, based on the results of more than 99.98 percent of polling stations.
The outgoing president won praise from abroad on Monday for conceding and promoting a non-violent transition in a region marred by coups.
Following Mr. Boakai’s selection of Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung of Nimba County and President Weah’s decision to stick to Jewell Howard Taylor wife of imprisoned former President Charles Taylor it was clear that the election was going to be a two-horse race between Mr. Boakai and Mr. Weah.
The Boakai campaign team branded their ticket as the Rescue Team accusing the Weah administration of corruption and abuse of power as well as failing to tackle the rising drug crisis in the country.
President Weah dismissed Mr. Boakai’s allegations, saying he had made significant strides, including introducing free tuition for university students and paying secondary students WASCE fees.
President Weah won the six southeastern counties but lost four of the country’s six populated counties including the capital Monrovia and was heavily fought in the two populated counties he won.
The President saw his vote margin decrease in Bong County the home of his running mate and Vice President Jewell Howard Taylor, and Grand Bassa County where he was endorsed by newly elected Senator and former Senate Pro Tempore Milton Gbazhongar Findley.
2023, a long road and a good fight for UP and Boakai.
Following the 2017 election, there were concerns raised over the future of the Unity Party given how the Party lost to Mr. Weah Coalition for Democratic Change. One of the major concerns was who could lead the Party to regain state power given the age of standard Bearer Joseph Boakai.
But the UP managed to erase those doubts as they projected Boakai as a man still strong enough to lead the party to the 2023 elections.
With less than a year following President Weah’s inauguration Boakai and other opposition leaders met and formed a united opposition to speak to issues of governance together. That decision also gave birth to what they called the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP).
Many Liberians saw the CCP as an alternative to the CDC. During the 2020 midterm election, the CCP won six of the 15 senatorial seats.
But following that election, the CPP ran into chaos with Benoni Urey of the All Liberian Party taking Alexander Benedict Cummings of the Alternative National Congress to court on allegations of tempering with the CCP framework document. The case was later dropped and Cummings walked out free.
The All Liberian and Unity Party left the CPP, forming a partnership that projected Mr. Boakai as the candidate. The Liberty of the late Charles Brumskine under the leadership of Senator Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence and the Alternative National Congress of Mr. Cummings were left together.
Trouble soon ensued in the Liberty Party with some partisans accusing the Party’s chairman, now Representative-elect of District 7 Nimba County Musa Bility of tempering with the Party’s constitution. Some members including the Political leader Senator Lawrence and Senator Abraham Darius Dillon went to Boakai, while the chairman and others stayed with cummings.
Following the death of the CPP, Boakai and his Unity Party began to reburn their Party and formed a new collaboration with Senator Prince Johnson’s Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, and Movement for One Liberia of McDella Cooper. Boakai eventually picked MDR political leader Jeremiah Koung as running mate over Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence setting the stage for weeks and months of criticisms. Many saw Boakai’s decision not to pick Senator Lawrence as a betrayal. It also led to the departure of one of his key supporters Mr. Benoni Urey.
There was also speculation that Nyonblee and her fraction of the Liberty were going to leave Boakai. Despite weeks and months of criticism the Unity Party stood her ground and defended the choice of their standard Bearer. Senator Lawrence and her supporters later endorsed Mr. Boakai.
A wonderful reward for years of service
President-elect Boakai has been in Public service for 24 years ranging from coordinator, Manager, and Minister to Vice President.
The former Vice President served as residence coordinator for the Liberia Produce and Marketing Cooperation in Lofa and later served as its Managing Director. He also served as Minister of Agriculture in the early 80s before heading the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company LPRC in 1992 during the interim leadership of Dr. Amos Sawyer.
He was selected by Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as her running mate in 2005 and they led the country for 12 years.
Before serving as vice president, Boakai consulted with a number of institutions including serving as Chief Technical Advisor on Agriculture Policy, Ministry of Agriculture. He reviewed and evaluated the Liberian 1986 proposed Green Revolution and FAO World Bank 1986 Agricultural Sector Review Document and evaluated AMSCO, Amsterdam Funded training program for projects in Uganda in 1994 and Tanzania in 1996.
Boakai has served on many boards, including as chairman of Liberia Finance and Trust Corporation, chairman of the board of Star Radio, founding member of LOIC, member of the board of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, founding member of Bethesda Christian Mission, founding organizer-African Methodist Episcopal University, founding organizer of the C.W.A. Methodist University, ambassador of the Liberia YMCA, president of LUSU Resource Corporation, and ex-president of the Monrovia Rotary Club.
For a man with such vast experience and track record, much is expected of him.
