Ganta — The Liberian public had high expectations of learning who the running mate would be for the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), especially given that the CPP had recently gathered in Ganta, Nimba County for its convention. However, the constitution of Alexander Cummings’ Alternative National Congress (ANC) prohibits the announcement of a running mate from outside the county of origin of the candidate.
This was raised by the ex-chairman of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) Lafayette Gould who raised a last-minute motion that a pronouncement of a would-be person be named in the person’s county of nativity, in concurrence with the constitution.
Gould proposed that such a decision be made within a period of 21 days, but delegates unanimously proposed that the pronouncement be done within the grace period of 14 days.
Prior to the convention, it had been rumored that Mr. Cummings had settled on Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, daughter of the Liberty Party’s founding father.
The CPP comprises the ANC and the Liberty Party.
‘I will fight corruption’
Cummings, meanwhile, Friday pledged to to rid Liberia of endemic corruption that has stifled the underdevelopment of country if he wins this year’s election.
“Unless we change the politics by changing the political leadership, we are stuck in this terrible state of underdevelopment and misery,” he said.
“During my leadership as president, Liberians will work for their own money, no free gifts. We will not give you money, we all will carry out effective works including development activities together, we all need to work together for the betterment of this country.”
Cummings’ Alternative National Congress (ANC) – a constituent party of the CPP – elected re-elected him to contest as presidential candidate and 15 other senator and representative aspirants to contest on the party’s ticket in October at a one-day convention in Ganta.
In his acceptance statement, Cummings expressed gratitude for his re-election as standard bearer and vowed to uphold the trust and work assiduously to bring “real change” in the socio-economic life of the suffering masses.
“There will be strict adherence to democratic norms and the merit system and we reject the age-old practices including a brown envelope for lawmakers, which are deemed counter-productive to the principles of good governance.
He cautioned Liberians against political banditry, lawlessness and character assassinations of political opponents and adversaries, and admonished partisans of the CPP to act civil during these campaign periods leading to the October 10 elections.
Cummings promised a government of inclusion irrespective of political and religious affiliations, ethnicity, and that access and rights to jobs and opportunities would be strictly based on the merit system and the law.
Also speaking, ANC’s Global chairman, Alois Monger, urged partisans to get more involved in mobilizing support for the party to ensure Cummings is elected president.
For his part, an executive of ANC and lawmaker of Nimba’s eighth district, Nimba County District, Larry Younquoi, expressed disappointment in President George Weah’s six-year leadership, claiming that lawmakers have not been paid for the past four months, a situation he blamed on the president’s poor leadership ability.
The ANC 5th National Convention was attended by over 250 delegates from the 15 political sub-divisions of Liberia, as well as delegates from the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world.