By: Josiah Dorbor

The Minnesota Chapter of the Ruling Unity Party held its first executive and board leadership election Saturday March 5, producing five board members and six executive officials in a process widely described as fair, transparent, orderly, and festive.

Those elected on the executive committee include—Henry Y. Kesselly, Sr. (Chairman); Kulubo S. Kpanaku (Vice-Chairman); Lombeh Wilson (Secretary General); Zubah G. Kpanaku, Jr. (Treasurer); Jerry Yogei (Financial Secretary); and Kamorlay Parker (Chaplain).

With the exception of the chairmanship position, which pitted Kesselly against Sherman, the rest of the executive candidates ran unopposed. At the end of the official tally, Anthony Kanneh, chairman of the election commission, recorded 54 votes for Kesselly and 16 ballots for Sherman, stunning many who had anticipated a more competitive duel between the two.

For the board, five members also ran and won without challengers. Those include are: Nathaniel Sikiley, Wesley Yiadoo, Cairbeh Dahn, Vivienne Weh-Dorliea, and J. Gibson Keypo.

The March 5 election, which officially ended the current interim leadership set-up, empowers the new leadership team to steer the affairs of the Minnesota group for the next four years. Managed by Kanneh and his team, including Susie Keypo and Arku Subah, the electoral process won praises and admiration from many who, after a five-hour festive and lively engagement, seemed to have enjoyed an atmosphere and process characterized by civility and maturity.

"I am really impressed with the process. It was certainly designed to allow for people to express their differences without the usual personal attack or acrimony," said Angelique Cooper-Liberty, who was excited to vote for a new leadership team. "The election commission performed a superb job, and the audience’s credibility in the works of the commission was all too visible, especially how everybody embraced the results, without even the slightest hints of doubts."

Cooper-Liberty added that the event also represented a family reunion of sort, given the friendly and festive atmosphere, at least before Erasmus Williams, "the impeached interim chair", created a dramatic scene lasting nearly five minutes. As the process unfolded, Williams suddenly rose up in the middle of the room, declaring himself the "legitimate chairman" of UP Minnesota, while issuing dire warnings against "all those who are participating in the process."

"The whole process is a political joke", he thundered, provoking loud boos and jeers from participants who demanded that he be ejected from the facility. The short-lived stunt by Williams aside, Sherman, who suffered a sting from Kesselly, shares Cooper-Liberty’s assessment of the process. "We had a great process", he said, "and it was like a family coming together to participate in a lively and fun event."

As a candidate, Sherman seemed determined to live by example. In grace and style, he accepted the outcome of the process, congratulating Kesselly on his victory as "a political godfather.’"He has become our my chair…," Sherman began the political ritual of accepting his defeat. "I’ll endlessly work with him [Kesselly], and this organization…in making sure that we go forward from here." In a short but moving speech, he also said "Minnesota will stand as an example for other states", especially with regards to raising funds to support the party’s efforts in Liberia, eliciting a repeated rounds of cheers.

In response, Kesselly, the newly-elected chairman, promised to work with "every partisan and sympathizer" to ensure victory for both President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf—the standard bearer of Unity party—and the party itself (See Kesselly’s Story)…

Meanwhile, Williams, the former interim chair, refused to silently fade away. In his first reaction to the result of the election, he said he’ll never recognize the results of the election, threatening to make certain that the Kesselly group is derailed in its operations.

"Those who participated in that process violated the constitution and will, therefore, not be recognized as legitimate leaders," he argued. "I am the only legitimate leader recognized at the national level." But Kesselly rejected Williams’ claims. "Erasmus Williams is a delusional, dangerous, manipulative and divisive little boy," he charged. Commissioner Kanneh echoed Kesselly’s position more bluntly, with a dose of charges against Williams. "Erasmus Williams", he claimed, "Is a CDC spy, hell bent on disrupting our operations, and we must stopped him before he causes more damages to the re-election campaign of President Sirleaf from within."

By nearly all accounts, the electoral process and "political family reunion" proved a huge success, as many began to celebrate the impact of the resurgence and the merger of Unity Party and Liberian Action Party."Politically, we’re back to take Minnesota from any political party", said Cairbeh Dahn, a staunch Johnson-Sirleaf supporter and a member of the newly-elected local board. "All we hear is OPODL, but we are here to say: ’UP and LAP partisans are alive and kicking in Minnesota and the Liberian Diaspora."

Edward William Carter, Jr., the former commissioner of Bensonville, agreed. "The process was a huge victory for partisans of the UP and LAP, as well as a huge boost for supporters of President Sirleaf in Minnesota, and across the Diaspora." How the new leadership converts the positive sentiments into an effective political capital remains to be seen.

Editor's Note: Part II of UP Minnesota election coming soon (with separate video clips and pictures)