Cummings-Charlyne ticket faces questions
Concerns are mounting here as to how far former Coca-Cola executive Mr. Alexander B. Cummings and his running mate Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine can go in the October 2023 presidential elections.
The head of the ticket, Mr. Cummings is the political leader of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) which is made up of his Alternative National Congress (ANC) and a faction of the Liberty Party (LP) founded by Charlyne's late father, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine.
Charlyne suddenly abandoned her first major political quest for a Grand Bassa representative office to honor Mr. Cummings' request to be his running mate.
Cummings emerged as the fifth presidential candidate at the end of the first round in the 2017 elections won by President George Manneh Weah.
Weah's main political rival in the 2017 elections Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai is making a second try on the former ruling Unity Party (UP) ticket, fielding vote rich Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate.
Boakai continues to be Weah's main political rival in the 2023 elections, and other major political forces have also emerged for the presidency.
How much weight can the Cummings- Brumskine ticket pull in the upcoming election is now the mouth-watering question on the lips of many political actors, including the public, as the October 10 pool draws closer.
Cummings' pick of Cllr. Brumskine las week followed a series of marathon meetings with different actors as the CPP leader sought a suitable partner for his presidential ticket.
Picking the daughter LP's founding father as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election could be deemed a good decision for Bruskine's kinsmen, but many have argued that winning the presidency goes beyond getting support from the Bassa people.
The Cummings-Brumskine ticket has many battles ahead, one is against the incumbent President Weah and Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor's re-election bid.
Both Weah and Cummings are from the southeast, and Jewel continues to enjoy the support of Bong County, a populous county here.
The Cummings-Brumskine ticket also has a battle against the Boakai-Koung ticket which continues to boast of the Lofa and Nimba support.
However, CPP National Chairman Musa Bility says the selection of Cllr. Brusmkine as Cummings' running mate will boost the CPP's strength ahead of the crucial elections.
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According to Mr. Bility, picking Charlyne as Cummings' running mate was a strategic decision that will accrue a political dividend in the pending election.
He said it has given the party outstanding authority to capture thousands of votes in the southeast, especially Grand Bassa County, where the Liberty Party has been a dominant party in previous elections.
Meanwhile, some political commentators have criticized Cllr. Brumskine for neglecting an opportunity to start are political career at the button by serving as a representative of Grand Bassa County.
Some have suggested that she needed to acquire legislative experience before aspiring for a top post as vice presidential hopeful.
In response to that argument, Cllr. Brumskine said no revolution was born out of perfect timing, and no history can be made at the bottom, but rather at the top.
