In 1988, the Liberia Action Party (LAP), and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP) and the Unity Party (UP) were established to contest the post-military coup general and presidential elections to provide democratic alternatives to political change in Liberia. The three parties were led by their founding fathers and first Standard Bearers: Jackson Fiah Doe of LAP, William Gabriel Kpolleh of LUP; and Dr. Edward B, Kesselly of UP. The three parties had a shared vision of a Liberia united and stable in which all Liberians are guaranteed equal rights and opportunities under the rule of law.
The Liberia Action Party (LAP), the Liberia Unification Party (LUP), and the Unity (UP) signed Articles of Merger on 1 April 2009 for the merger of these three political parties, which were organized in 1984 to contest the 1985 general and presidential elections intended to end military rule (1980-1985). The military government, which had hurriedly established its own political party, the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), employed private citizens to launch objections to the registration of these three political parties. It was only after pressure, apparently from the United States Government, that the military government announced that the three political parties would be allowed to register. Their cases at the Supreme Court disappeared without a hearing or a ruling by the court.
The 1985 elections were eventually held, but when the vote count revealed that the military government was losing, contrary to the Elections Laws of Liberia, a new commission was set up by the military government through the Election Commission to count the ballots at the Unity Conference Center. The result of that vote count is that the military government, through the NDPL, won the presidency and most seats of the National Legislature. It was widely believed that LAP had actually won those elections. All protests against this vote rigging were brutally crushed. The Grand Coalition of LAP,LUP and UP was founded on the premise that had these three political parties united against the military government, the military government might not have been able to so easily usurp political power in Liberia, thereby destroying the possibility of democracy in our country.
The ultimate ambition of the Grand Coalition was that LAP, LUP and UP would eventually merge into a single political entity to contest the 1992 elections. Regrettably, as a consequence of the Civil War, the 19992 elections were never held. The signing of the Articles of Merger on April 1, 2009 was the first major step toward the realization of the ambition of the Grand Coalition. The ratification of the Articles of Merger by UP, then LUP and LAP concretized the dream of the founding fathers of these three political parties.
On May 6-9, 2010, the three constituent political parties consummated the merger in a National Convention of the Unity Party in Ganta (Gompa City), Nimba County. At that Convention, the Party adopted a New Constitution, elected a new corps of National Officers, and re-organized the Party. Thus the “new” Unity Party was born.
In 1988, the Liberia Action Party (LAP), and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP) and the Unity Party (UP) were established to contest the post-military coup general and presidential elections to provide democratic alternatives to political change in Liberia. The three parties were led by their founding fathers and first Standard Bearers: Jackson Fiah Doe of LAP, William Gabriel Kpolleh of LUP; and Dr. Edward B, Kesselly of UP. The three parties had a shared vision of a Liberia united and stable in which all Liberians are guaranteed equal rights and opportunities under the rule of law.
The Liberia Action Party (LAP), the Liberia Unification Party (LUP), and the Unity (UP) signed Articles of Merger on 1 April 2009 for the merger of these three political parties, which were organized in 1984 to contest the 1985 general and presidential elections intended to end military rule (1980-1985). The military government, which had hurriedly established its own political party, the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), employed private citizens to launch objections to the registration of these three political parties. It was only after pressure, apparently from the United States Government, that the military government announced that the three political parties would be allowed to register. Their cases at the Supreme Court disappeared without a hearing or a ruling by the court.
The 1985 elections were eventually held, but when the vote count revealed that the military government was losing, contrary to the Elections Laws of Liberia, a new commission was set up by the military government through the Election Commission to count the ballots at the Unity Conference Center. The result of that vote count is that the military government, through the NDPL, won the presidency and most seats of the National Legislature. It was widely believed that LAP had actually won those elections. All protests against this vote rigging were brutally crushed. The Grand Coalition of LAP,LUP and UP was founded on the premise that had these three political parties united against the military government, the military government might not have been able to so easily usurp political power in Liberia, thereby destroying the possibility of democracy in our country.
The ultimate ambition of the Grand Coalition was that LAP, LUP and UP would eventually merge into a single political entity to contest the 1992 elections. Regrettably, as a consequence of the Civil War, the 19992 elections were never held. The signing of the Articles of Merger on April 1, 2009 was the first major step toward the realization of the ambition of the Grand Coalition. The ratification of the Articles of Merger by UP, then LUP and LAP concretized the dream of the founding fathers of these three political parties.
On May 6-9, 2010, the three constituent political parties consummated the merger in a National Convention of the Unity Party in Ganta (Gompa City), Nimba County. At that Convention, the Party adopted a New Constitution, elected a new corps of National Officers, and re-organized the Party. Thus the “new” Unity Party was born.
