PHOTO: Alex Cummings speaking after he was chosen
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The political leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings has vowed to end all forms of corruption in Liberia if he is elected as President on the ticket of the CPP in 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
CPP is the Collaborating Political Parties, making up four parties including ANC, the former ruling Unity Party of ex-Vice President Joseph Boakai, Liberty Party of Senator Nyonblee Karnga and the All Liberian Party of Benoni Urey.
Mr. Cummings also promised to bring honor by example to public service, where public servants will work for the public and not for themselves.
Mr. Cummings spoke when he was officially elected as the standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress at the end of the fifth national convention of the ANC held in Monrovia Wednesday.
ANC partisans at the program
The election of Mr. Cummings as the ANC standard bearer automatically qualifies him as the party’s nominee to the election for the candidate of the Collaborating Political Parties against Vice President Joseph Boakai, the standard bearer of the Unity Party.
The official election of ANC has been a pre-condition for his qualification to contest for the CPP’s ticket at the first national convention of the collaboration that is scheduled to take place later this year.
Speaking further, the ANC standard bearer, who spoke optimistically of winning the CPP ticket, said after defeating President George Weah, all forms of corruption will come to an end and there will be no more monkey work and baboon draw.
According to him, his success in the 2023 presidential election will also end nepotism, injustices, killing of women, children and wasteful spending of government funds.
“I have heard about concerns of the CPP and the fact that you hear us disagree has led some to believe the collaboration will fail and President Weah will be returned to office in 2023. We will resolve our differences in the interest of the Liberian people,” he said.
The ANC standard bearer added: “the CPP will hold together and win in 2023 and Liberians will not be disappointed.”
“The choice we must make in the CPP and for the country in 2023 is not one party against another, It is not ANC versus UP or CPP versus the CDC,” Mr. Cummings told the delegates.
According to him, the 2023 the real choice for Liberians is and must be one between Liberians who want to seriously change the direction of the country versus Liberians who want to keep the country the same way.
Liberty Party’s Chair defends Cummings on CPP Framework document
In remarks, the National Chairman of the Liberty Party, Musa Bility, denied allegations by the political leader of the All Liberian Party that the CPP frame work document was altered.
According to Mr. Bility, all political leaders of the CPP aware that the frame works document brought from the National Elections Commission and one presented by the lawyers are the same.
“Every political leader is aware of this fact and they are not talking about it,” he said; saying: “what borders me more if someone to leave one of the best places in the world and come purposely to contribute to his mother only to tarnish that person’s name is not fair.”
He noted that he will support whosoever is elected on the ticket of the CPP in order to bring change in the country.
“What is at stick is faith,” he went on, “all the political leaders of the CPP have owed to support anyone who wins regardless who is on the ticket.”
For his part, Rivercess County Senator, Willington Gevon Smith cautioned the CPP to hold together because it is the only alternative Liberians are looking up to now.
He promised to support anyone who will emerge victorious at the first convention of the CPP, so as to ensure that victory is achieved in the 2023 elections.
Boakai, Karnga-Lawrence, Urey absent
Former Vice President Boakai and officials of the Unity Party, the officials of the All Liberian Party, Benoni Urey, and the political leader of the Liberty Party, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence were conspicuously absent from the ANC convention.
The convention, held under the theme: “Real Chance Versus Second Chance,” brought delegates from all over the country, the ANC Legislative Caucus and hundreds of observers and sympathizers.
The CPP, which is comprising of the Liberty Party, the All Liberian Party , the Unity Party and the Alternative National Congress has been rocked by internal wrangling of all sorts.
The first and most important challenge confronting the collaboration is the alleged altering of the CPP frame work and the second is what appears to be interpretation of the law who controls the power within the Liberty Party.
One side of the Liberty Party appears to be neutral and respecting the constitution of the party while another is also claiming that the LP law was tempered with and harboring the plans that will lead for the political leader to be chosen as the running mate to former Vice President of the Unity Party.
As efforts aimed at resolving the controversy in the CPP continues, the apparent in-fighting within the Liberty Party is keeping some members very skeptical, as it could bring a split between the group that prefers ANC standard bearer as the face of the CPP.
Or the other group who is hatching the plan for political leader to be selected as a running mate to former Vice President Boakai.
Only the outcome first convention of the CPP seems to be the strings that is holding the Liberty Party, as if the in-fighting does not have any spillover effect.