Monrovia — Alexander Cummings has heard the noise against his electability. Unfazed and unbothered, he recently asked a rhetorical question to a small group of supporters: "Whether Liberians are eager for 'real change' to join him in turning the tide on October 10, instead of questioning his electability."
Said Cummings: "We who believe in change must stand together, and with each other. We who want to move our country forward and not backward must work together for the change our country so desperately needs. We can, and together, should chart a new path not just to win the election, but more importantly, to fix our country."
DECIDING BASE: Charting a new path requires not just a good talk but a good plan, a reflection on the failures and mistakes of the failed 2017 bid, and how those failures can be overcome for a better or more improved performance this time around. Thus, the CPP best hopes hinge on vote-rich Montserrado County, Grand Bassa, Margibi, and Southeastern counties, including his hometown of Maryland County, as well as Grand Kru, and the Western Belt. Over the course of the past few months, the CPP Political Leader has made some in-roads into the Western belt, particularly in Grand Cape Mount where the party believes it is polling strongly with many young people enthusiastic about the CPP campaign. The party strongly believes they are strong in Montserrado, Bong, Grand Bassa, Maryland, Cape Mount and Margibi, as well as competing favorably across Rivercess, River Gee, Grand Gedeh and Grand Kru. As ambitious as this may seem, the CPP will be hoping that Cummings has done a lot of reconciliation with the people of Maryland County to win it this time around.
In 2017, entering the presidential race with 18 months to spare, Cummings ranked 5th overall, third in Montserrado, and managed to secure 8,246 votes for 21.6 percent in his home county of Maryland to finish second behind the eventual winner, George Manneh Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change. Weah won the Maryland emphatically after securing 18, 232 votes for 47 percent of the votes with Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party accumulating his share with 4,791 votes for 12.55 percent of the votes in the county. If Cummings has not done his homework by now and the results remain the same, it could serve as a demoralizing effort to his goal of making a strong push to jump ahead of his main opposition rival, Boakai.
Montserrado is expected to be a dogfight for all the parties in the race, and if there's any consolation, the nation's capital has historically been an opposition territory, putting it up for grabs for those in the opposition pool, although the ruling CDC is also expected to do well in the county. The CPP will also be hoping that Mr. Cummings' choice of Charlyne Brumskine, the daughter of former Liberty Party leader, Charles Walker Brumskine, will help secure a win in Bassa with the possibility of a good chunk from nearby, Margibi, Rivercess, and districts in Montserrado.
Bolstered by the support of Henry Yallah, who says he believes in Cummings' vision for Liberia, the CPP will be hoping for a improvement from Cummings this time around in vote-rich Bong County which is also expected to be a battleground county where Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor's popularity is said to be shrinking by the day. In 2017, Cummings could only manage to secure 8,359 votes for 5.2 percent despite having a once influential son of the county in Jeremiah Sulunteh, who ironically is now the campaign chair of the ruling CDC in the October elections in Bong.
Cummings 2023 unexpected in-roads into Bong makes the county critical to electoral success for the top-three contenders. Weah won the county in 2017 by 40.6 percent from 61,520 votes and Boakai with 34.01 percent from 51,536 are also in the 2023 race and are likely poised to compete seriously in the county. Despite the hurdles, the CPP believes it has established footholds in the county that are enough to overturn the 2017 results. This is in part to not just Yallah's endorsement but the recent endorsement of Cummings by 1000 pastors from across the county.
In Nimba, where the CPP chair Musa Bility is a contender for the District No. 7 seat, the CPP will be hoping to accumulate votes despite a tall order as well. Cummings did manage to secure 12,548 for 6.25 percent in the county overwhelmingly won by Senator Prince Johnson. Now in a merger with the Liberty Party, the CPP and Cummings are banking strongly on the possibility the alliance with LP will pay off significantly. A former superintendent, Fong Zuagele is leading the ground effort of the CPP in Nimba where Charlyne was born and Cummings has family ties in Tappita. Two leading grass root auxiliaries from Nimba have pledged support to Cummings presidential bid, a big change from supporting Boakai in 2017.
This time around, the former Coca Cola executive-turned politician is returning to his Jehovah witness, door-to-door style of campaigning he introduced in his first presidential run in 2017 in hopes of convincing Liberians why he is the best among the rest in the presidential race, defying convention, and expectations - the real change candidate in an old game of politics - capable of leading Liberia into 21st Century transformation.
POLITICAL PARTY: COLLABORATING POLITICAL PARTIES
RUNNING MATE: CHARLYNE BRUMSKINE
THE LOWDOWN:
Making his introduction to Liberian politics in the 2017 presidential race, the former Coca Cola executive, garnered 112,067 votes for 7.21 percent, that saw him finished fifth behind the winner George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Charles Brumskine and Nimba County Senator Prince Y. Johnson.
Those numbers, while impressive for a newcomer, proved a disappointment for Cummings.
Part of Mr. Cummings pitch to voters is his point that no serious international investor has come to Liberia to help create jobs in the last six years. In fact, he says, "some investors left because the government is too corrupt. Officials act lawlessly, and the president either does nothing or acts in a 419 way to cover up stealing and abuse of public offices by his friends and closest officials. Decent jobs do not get created in countries where drug traffickers are allowed to walk free, accused persons are never prosecuted, and promised investigations for alleged crimes are never held."
A Cummings-Brumskine administration, he says, will fix the lack of leadership that is hurting Liberians. "We will restore international confidence in the new leadership of the Liberian government and attract serious international investors back to our country. With your support and vote, October 10 will be the beginning of the end to stealing in government, abuse of office, mismanagement of public resources, and the sale of Liberia's wealth by government officials while Liberians continue to remain poor."
"In a Cummings-Brumskine administration, names, gender, religion, and tribe will only identify Liberians. It will never be used to measure the capacity of Liberians, nor the potential of a Liberian child to achieve anything they dare to dream. Dividing our people along lines of tribe, religion and gender must come to an end, if we are serious to change and build our nation together. United we will stand. Divided we will fall."
Cummings, 67, spent his formative years in Liberia before moving to the United States to further his education. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance and economics from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in Finance from Clark Atlanta University.
He began his corporate career with The Pillsbury Company in 1982, eventually rising through the ranks to become Vice President of Finance. He later joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1997, where he held several senior executive positions, including Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. His successful corporate career not only provided him with valuable leadership and management skills but also earned him a reputation as a results-driven executive.
In 2016, Cummings made the decision to transition from the corporate world to Liberian politics. He joined the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and soon became the party's standard-bearer. Cummings' entrance into politics was motivated by his desire to contribute to Liberia's development and leverage his extensive managerial leadership experience to bring results-driven "real change" to his homeland, because as he says, "Liberia and Liberians deserve better", as the country is "too rich for Liberians to be so poor."
It is that knowledge and experience that he hopes will separate him from his political rivals. "We know that today, many of you are feeling let down, frustrated, and betrayed," he said in a statement on the eve of the start of the campaign season to the young people of Liberia. "It feels like you are struggling alone, and no one cares, no one understands, or wants to help you. Some of you correctly understand that failure in leadership today will hurt you tomorrow. The current leaders must stop putting too much debt on you with nothing to show for it. Doing the right things today, which we are committed to doing, will make it easy on you tomorrow."
STRENGTH: On paper, many Liberians see Cummings as the candidate with "clean hands" and the most international experience and exposure who will fight corruption and change the direction of Liberia. After breaking into the top management of Coca Cola, where Cummings is credited with mapping the brand's impact on the continent of Africa, Cummings' legacy at the brand showcased a personality who was able to engage governments globally about job creation and training and development for young people.
His legacy at Coca Cola where he oversaw the creation of The CocaCola Africa Foundation in response to the growth and impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, remains a high point in his career. In 2001, the Foundation established an extensive healthcare program for CocaCola workers affected by HIV/AIDS and related conditions across Africa in addition to supporting HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness throughout local communities. Today, The CocaCola Africa Foundation is the largest regional foundation within CocaCola's global network with a focus on clean water, health education and entrepreneurship.
Since 2001, it has granted more than $100 million to support sustainable communities in Africa.
This is where Cummings believe he can make immediate impact for Liberia if given the chance. His vision aims to transform Liberia into a 21st Century country by investing in critical infrastructure that creates jobs and revitalizes inclusive economic growth; increasing investment in agriculture with resulting food security, and prioritizing investments in human capital to enhance skills, reduce illiteracy, improve the health of our people, and reduce poverty; concurrently ensuring all Liberians benefit from the wealth of our nation by expanding value addition of natural resources and ending the culture of impunity and the evils of corruption.
Domestically, Cummings, as head of the Collaborating Political Parties proved his political mantle when he oversaw a string of victories in the 2020 midterm elections, leaving the ruling CDC to clinch only three seats, two of them retained or won by crossovers, Augustine Chea of Sinoe County and Zoe Pennue of Grand Gedeh; and the third in Maryland by a long time NPP stalwart.
The results meant that not a single chest beating "original" CDC fielded candidate won a seat in the election of 2020, including in the long-held stronghold of Montserrado.
At the time, Cummings, aided by Boakai, Urey (politial leader of the All Liberian People Party, ALP), and the former political leader of Liberty Party, Nyonblee Karnga, was instrumental in securing reelection victories for Karnga-Lawrence and Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, in both Montserrado and Grand Bassa counties, sending a shockingly strong message of discontentment by the Liberian people to the 3-year rule of the CDC. Cummings held the CPP together and led it through the impressive victories fulfilling promises to the Liberian people about a united opposition against George Weah and his CDC.
With those victories secured, Cummings appeared to nudge out Boakai in the internal race for the CPP standard-bearership in the upcoming October elections, and this is where things began falling apart. Infighting amongst CPP leaders led to a lengthy court battle in which Cummings was accused by both Mr. Urey (an erstwhile Boakai supporter) and Boakai himself of altering the framework document of the CPP, which was used to oversee their previous massive victories over the CDC. Boakai who was head of the CPP at the time, and had asked the National Elections Commission to cancel his Unity Party's participation in the CPP, testified in court as the Weah government's key witness against Cummings.
When the Supreme Court granted the Unity Party and the ALP rights to leave the CPP without consequences as contained in their framework agreement, after the NEC had ruled against them, the Weah government promptly ended the 6-month prosecution of Cummings in the magisterial court, during which period Cummings' movements were restricted. Although the original four-party CPP was effectively dissolved, Cummings persuaded the Liberty Party to continue in collaboration with his Alternative National Congress arguing that they still possess a commitment to the Liberian people who commanded the existence of the CPP and favored it with victories in the 2020 midterm elections.
Despite the fights, the CPP victories under Cummings' leadership, particularly in Montserrado, once regarded as the CDC base, in Grand Kru the president's home county was a major triumph as these were two counties the incumbent Weah publicly declared he would win as a test of his party's continued popularity.
WEAKNESSES: Despite boasting a stellar corporate America performance record, Mr. Cummings continues to struggle with the issue of his winnability. Voters trust his leadership and count him as cable to improve the economic conditions in the country but are concerned as to whether he can climb from his fifth position in 2017 to surpass Boakai and Weah who were the last two standing in the runoff in 2017. Many say a one-on-one with either Boakai or Weah will likely see Cummings emerge victorious. But they are concerned about the 3-way split of votes which could favor Weah.
Separately, the candidate and his team have done a poor job dismissing rumors about his lifestyle. During a recent endorsement by evangelicals in Bong County, his wife, Teresa defending her husband's character, said rumors about her husband being a gay are untrue and intended to taint his hard-earned character. "I have known my husband for over forty years and there is nothing that resembles him being a gay. He's a devoted Christian, a father figure and has the fear of God. Those spreading the rumors about my husband being a gay are doing so because of political reasons as they have nothing to pin on him or accuse him of."
Mrs. Cummings' defense of her husband stems from a purported recorded admission from a former CDC stalwart who acknowledged that the gay narrative was coined during the 2017 elections to hurt Mr. Cummings's chances of winning. According to the recorded self-confession video, Obed Nation (FaceBook Name) says, "...And that gay thing, I invented it and I stuck it on Alex Cummings. And it stuck. Today's date, that gay thing sill on Alex Cummings. It was something I invented." According to Obed Nation, he "invented the whole gay thing in support of George Weah - to get him to where he is."
Cummings is also, often regarded to be too accommodating and gentlemanly in dealing with the mudsling and gutter politics in Liberia. Promising to do things differently and fight corruption which is endemic in Liberia frightens away traditional politicians known for their chronic and increasing lack of public accountability. In this regard, not only is Cummings feared by the Weah government, he is also even more feared by the opposition which he claims to be a part of. When legislators gave themselves money in the budget they could use without accountability, Cummings publicly chastised them sending a wave of unease among his "friends."
KEY CAMPAIGN THRUST: Running on the banner of the Collaborating Political Parties, Mr. Cummings has been championing the establishment of a special anti-corruption court and enforcement mechanisms to hold corrupt officials accountable. By tackling corruption and ending wasteful spending, the campaign believes that Liberia will realize a more efficient and effective government. "We must end the mismanagement of our natural resources", he repeats often.
Cummings' CPP government is also aiming to institute the requisite political and governmental reforms with the goal of making all Liberians, including members of opposing political parties, genuine stakeholders in national governance. Additionally, the party plans on Implementing the necessary reforms returns power to the people so that they have a direct say in choosing their local leaders, building institutions, including a reformed judicial system that fosters transparency and mitigates against corruption and supports the rule of law.
Cummings says his administration and its officials will be held to account and will leverage innovative technologies that automate some government processes, creating efficiency, transparency and cutting waste. By tackling corruption and ending wasteful spending, a Cummings-led government hopes that Liberia will realize a more efficient and effective government - one that works for all Liberians.
In a bid to address corruption, the CPP is aiming to create a special anti-corruption court, support and appropriately resource existing judicial institutions; and establish the enforcement mechanisms to hold corrupt officials accountable. The CPP under Cummings also aims to identify the positions where individuals are most likely to engage in corruption and publicize them so that identifying corruption is a public engagement.
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Additionally, a Cummings-led government will also ensure that there is a balanced distribution of government spending, especially in terms of officials' compensation and will push to reduce the compensation and benefits received by high-level government officials and increase those of lower-level officials and civil servants.
The Cummings-led government is looking to prioritize transparency and accountability through strengthening existing integrity institutions, setting high standards for accountability, including at the presidency, and balancing distribution of government spending such as reducing compensation & benefits of high-level government officials and increasing those of civil servants, including police, teachers, nurses, and others. Priority will be placed on eliminating wasteful spending.
The ABC-CPP-led government is also promising to establish independence of controlling, procuring, and auditing functions within government agencies and reform the judiciary system to ensure the efficient and effective administration of justice and to protect the rights of every Liberian. The Cummings agenda also plans on utilizing technology to automate government processes.
On foreign policy and security, the Cummings-led CPP is pledging to sustain the peace and ensure that the security of the Liberian people is the top priority. The CPP is pledging to commit itself to modernizing security forces, improving relations with our West African neighbors, and expanding our economic and diplomatic relationships across the world. The CPP will look to move Liberia away from a dependence on foreign aid and toward self-sufficiency. Liberia's development partners can now serve as sources of foreign direct investment, as our relationships can evolve from aid to trade. "While Liberia will welcome support and assistance from international partners and friends, we will be respected in the comity of nations beginning with our desires to do for ourselves what we can and must do for ourselves."
The party believes that the first step in keeping the peace in Liberia is economic development and job creation with emphasis on the unemployed, underemployed, and unemployable youth which represents a simmering threat to the consolidated peace and stability Liberia has enjoyed over the last 18 years. Thus, employment under the CPP-led government will be a matter of national security.
Priority, under a Cummings-led government, will also be centered on free health care for children up to 6 years old and elders 65 years and over with focus on primary and preventative health care and increased access to healthcare facilities by constructing new health clinics throughout the country.
On Education, the Cummings-led CPP agenda will focus on three pillars: vocational training to address the demand for relevant skills in revenue generating industries for Liberia; teacher training as means of properly equipping our teachers to deliver 21st century education to 21st century youth; and adult education to increase access to opportunities for those who were left behind by the absence of education delivery by this administration. The CPP will ensure quality and affordable education, and work towards providing free public education. Our primary focus will be on youth and adult education, especially vocational training to put Liberian's first in line for new jobs.
The CPP's short-term focus will be to provide access to free, quality national primary education, as well as a streamlined vocational educational system aligned with current private sector needs. This includes construction, information technology, services, tourism, and manufacturing. Long term, we will reform higher education in Liberia by focusing on teachers' training, innovate in education delivery and strengthen a Liberia's network of colleges and universities.
According to Cummings, "We will apologize to no one for enabling and prioritizing Liberian success at home. This will include from business to sports, music, movie and other forms of arts. If you have the dream and the drive, the Cummings-Brumskine-led government will help you thrive."
KEY TO WINNING: Mr. Cummings has a major challenge on his shoulders in that he has only 60 plus days to convince voters that they can trust him to not just win but surpass his biggest threat to challenging the incumbent Weah, the Unity Party's Joseph Boakai. This will mean correcting some of the mistakes of 2017, proving his winnability and proving strong in counties like Grand Bassa, Montserrado, the Southeast and the Western belt.
CHANCES OF WINNING: 50-40.
COMING THURSDAY: TIAWON GONGLOE, 'THE SWEEPER'
