Monrovia — As Liberia's crucial presidential and legislative elections draw closer, it is no secret that the key political players are familiar faces who have dominated Liberian politics in recent years.
However, one of the major parties, the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), which consists of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the Liberty Party (LP) is featuring Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine as its vice standard bearer on her first try in national politics. Cllr. Brumskine is the daughter of the late Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, founder of the LP.
Earlier, Cllr. Brumskine had declared her intention to contest as a Representative candidate in Grand Bassa County District #3, currently occupied by Rep. Matthew Fair Play Joe. But she soon abandoned that plan for a more ambitious one - she grabbed the offer of a vice running mate slot when the CPP's standard bearer Alexander Cummings came calling.
Her critics say she should not have abandoned her previous plan as it was in the right direction given her first try into politics.
However, speaking with VOA Daybreak Africa, Cllr. Brumskine said, contrary to the cynics and her critics' views, she is by far the most experienced vice-presidential candidate going into the October polls.
"If you look at the presidential tickets right now, I certainly feel that, particularly with those who are vying for the vice-presidential slot, my experience surpasses most of their experiences. If you look at the current VP... the woman whom I have great affinity towards, she's like a big sister to me. However, prior to being elected as vice president, she was a Senator. Jeremiah Koung, currently, is a Senator. The only experience they both had or have had was lawmaking experience," Cllr. Brumskine said.
Cllr. Brumskine potential closest rivals are Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Senator Jeremiah Kpan Koung, Vice Standard Bearer of the former ruling Unity Party (UP). They both have had vast experience as elected officials. Prior to her ascendancy as Vice President, Madam Howard-Taylor served as Senator for 12 years. Senator Koung spent eight years as Representative of Nimba County Electoral District #1 before his election as Senator in 2020.
Cllr. Brumskine, on the other hand, has been successful in following her father's footsteps in her law practice. She is a founder and partner of the CMB Law Group, one of Liberia's fastest growing law firms. She is also an assistant professor of law at the University of Liberia's Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. She made headlines in 2022 when she dux the Supreme Court Bar Exams.
Despite not holding any elective office, Cllr. Brumskine maintains that she is the most qualified.
"I have been fortunate to be one of the few women in Liberia to lead a very reputable law firm, to engage in legislative drafting for the government... I am an entrepreneur and assistant professor of law. I think my experience by far surpasses any other vice-presidential candidate that will be on the ballot. I think those who are the naysayers and the opposition to CPP's ticket will say I'm inexperienced. But if you actually compare it on paper, my experience by far surpasses their candidates on paper."
'I've taken side with the law'
Cllr. Brumskine's Liberty Party has been embroiled in an acrimonious leadership crisis that led to a split in the party. One group, led by the LP political leader, Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence is backing the Unity Party, while the other side, backed by LP Chairman Musa Hassan Bility, is supporting the ANC and CPP Alexander Cummings.
Cllr. Brumskine agreed that the LP is being wrought by crisis, something she said the party did not experience under her father 'tireless" leadership. However, she told the Voice of America that she decided to stick with the side that is recognized by law.
"I want Liberians to know that I have certainly taken a side. And I have taken a side with the institution. I have taken a side with the rule of law. I have respected the Supreme Court's ruling. The Supreme Court of Liberia was very clear that the administrative functions, like any other political parties, invest in the chairman of the party and executive committee. And the chairman of the party, whether Liberians like it or not, is Musa Bility."
Continuing, she said, "I certainly was not going to allow our party to be torn apart by a few who were very determined to support the Unity Party candidate. There is no way that I, Charlene Brumskine, a member of the Liberty Party, a counselor at law in Liberia, and the daughter of the founding father of LP will relinquish my absolute obligation to support the Liberty Party so that I would support the Unity Party's candidates. I was never going to do that."
'United opposition in second round'
Currently, the opposition bloc has failed to form a formidable force to take on the ruling Party come October, something analysts say could end up benefiting incumbent President George Manneh Weah. But Brumskine is hopeful that the opposition bloc could form a united front if there is no outright winner and the ruling party goes into a runoff with an opposition party.
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"We have heard folks say the opposition is divided, splintered and so there is no way that we can defeat the incumbent. First of all, I want to disabuse that notion because there is strength in the opposition. And when there is an incumbent who has not performed, the Liberian people are going to decide who they are going to vote for."
"And if that person is not going to be the incumbent, then I believe they are going to rally around the opposition candidate they believe is best suited to change the direction of the country. First and foremost. If the opposition isn't going to rally around one candidate in October, I certainly believe there is going to be a united opposition in the second round."
"So, I don't think we need to be so concerned about a splinter opposition. I think Liberia needs to be more concerned about how we finally decide as a people that we want better, that we decide better, that we stop looking at these small mechanisms of politics, and say look, we must come together, and we must connect with the rest of the region, the continent and the globe."
Gerald C. Koinyeneh
