A Liberian civil court has annulled the candidacy of MacDella Cooper, the only female presidential aspirant in Liberia. Judge Boima Konton of the court on Tuesday declared that the April 22 convention of the Union of Liberian Democrats (ULD) that elected Cooper, was illegal.
The previous presidential flagbearer of the party, Jonathan Mason had filed a case against the process that elected Cooper to lead the ULD in the October 10 general elections.
According to the complaint, the party’s national executive committee had on April 19, agreed to postpone the primaries due to inadequate logistics and lack of proper preparation that would provide a level playing field for all aspirants.
Despite the agreement, the party’s Acting National Chairman, Solomon Khan, went ahead with the polls that saw the emergence of Cooper and other executives of the party three days later.
After earlier warnings by the court and the country’s election commission to refrain from conducting the election, the court placed a stay order on the entire process four days after Cooper’s election.
The court’s ruling means that the 40-year-old former model and philanthropist would have to contest again to become the party’s flag bearer in the presidential polls when a new date is set.
If nominated when the ULD holds its extraordinary session this week, Cooper would rub shoulders with veteran politicians to determine who would direct the affairs of Africa’s oldest republic.
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