A Representative aspirant of Grand Bassa County District 3, has warned Unity Party (UP) standard Joseph N. Boakai that any attempt to pick another to that of Grand Bassa County Senator, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence as his running mate would undermine his chances of the county.
Togar Alexander Bealded, who is also a stalwart of the Musa Bility-faction of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), stressed, “If Boakai fails to pick Karnga-Lawrence, who has been a devoted ally to him, in the upcoming presidential elections, would provoke a protest vote from the Bassa people. ”
However, Bealded’s cautioned came following reports that former VP Boakai is finding it very difficult to chose his between the likes of Senators Karnga-Lawrence of Grand Bassa County and Jeremiah Koung of Nimba County.
Koung has practically become a career legislator from Nimba County, a vote-rich county , that played a crucial role in the 2017 runoff election that brouth President George Weah’s to the Liberian Presidency, and has also served two terms as a Representative before being elected as senator of Nimba County.
Nevertheless, Sen. Karnga-Lawrence hails from Grand Bassa County, the fifth most populous county in Liberia, and has been elected twice as a senator. She is a prominent figure in the opposition community and is currently the most prominent female legislator in Liberia.
This, Bealded also threatened that if Senator Karngar-Lawrence is not chosen by Mr. Boakai who is also the country’s former Vice President, he (Bealded) would campaign vigorously against the election of Mr. Boakai as president to replace President George Weah.
Speaking to a of journalists in Monrovia Thursday, March 30, 2023, Bealded said he believes that Senator Karngar-Lawrence could be the best suited running mate to Boakai, because the people of his county have been marginalized when it comes to the presidency of the country.
He emphasized, “So, if Boakai refuses to heed my warning to pick Senator Karngar-Lawrence it would be the end of his political life. The people of Grand Bassa will definitely reject him during the upcoming presidential and legislative elections.”
According to him, a similar mistake was made by Boakai during the 2017 general and presidential elections, when he picked former House Speaker, Emmanuel J. Nuquay of Margibi County as his running mate, a decision that fails to yield the needed results .
“You can see how Boakai was massively defeated by President Weah because he picked the wrong person as his running mate. We are getting credible reports that Boakai will be naming his possible running mate, and we are sitting on the fence watching to see. If he doesn’t take Senator Lawrence, we will lead a strong campaign against him,” he said.
Though the UP standard bearer still finding it difficult in selecting his running mate as the elections draws nears, Boakai has always said that, considering that a vice president is the heartbeat of the presidency; he would not just choose anyone but “someone who shares my vision about Liberia.”