PATRICK S. TOKPAH
Africa-Press – Liberia. Alexander Cummings is aware that if he is going to win the October 10 polls, he needs a strong showing in Bong County.
The county, which is one of the big five time-honored battlegrounds for the presidency leading up to the October 10 polls, has a voting population of 237,463. The numbers have pushed Alexander Cummings, of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), who has long tried to stay above the fray of tribal politics, to go all in search of a person who has deeply-rooted patronage support.
His settling of former Senator Henry Yallah — a one-time political foe — comes as the election’s two frontrunners, President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, have established strongholds in the counties.
Weah’s Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor, has strong patronage support in the county, which can be matched by Boakai’s Prince Moye, who in the 2020 midterm senatorial election defeated Yallah, who ran on the ticket of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change.
“Cummings has the character, temperament, and leadership credentials to move the nation into the future Liberians hope to see,” says Yallah at an endorsement program for Cummings in Bong over the weekend.
“I believe in the ideology of Cummings when it comes to his vision for Liberia’s development. I stand with Cummings because he inspires a new mindset, not just to have us accept what is wrong with us, but to courageously try to push us into doing what is right for all of us.
Yallah, however, says that while he supports Cummings, he still remains a member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). He claims that Cummings is better than his party’s (CDC) leaders, saying he believes in Cummings’ vision for Liberia more than Weah’s.
It is unclear when Yallah realized the shortcomings of Weah’s vision for Liberia and whether the party will still keep him after such endorsements.
However, Yallah, who remains popular after his defeat, has vowed to deliver Bong to Cummings. It remains to be seen whether that is possible, considering that in 2017, Cummings chose his running mate from Bong County, yet still ended up underperforming — trailing Weah and Boakai.
But Yallah still believes he can make a difference, betting on his past huge following, while hoping that there could be a drop in the popularity of heavyweights such as Jewel Howard Taylor and Prince Moye — two of his arch-rivals — for influence over Bong County.
Yallah also says that Cummings’ message of change would also play a pivotal role in his quest to deliver the county to his newfound political leader.
According to him, Cummings comes with “a freshness of ideas, the courage to continue to fight when it seems easier to surrender,” and leadership experience, which Liberia needs.
“The narrative must be changed from a dysfunctional and discredited system of governance than manage with it,”
Yallah told a crowd of supporters at Cummings’s endorsement program.
Yallah still believes he can make a difference, betting on his past huge following, while hoping that there could be a drop in the popularity of heavyweights such as Jewel Howard Taylor and Prince Moye — two of his arch-rivals— for influence over Bong County.
Yallah also says that Cummings’ message of change would also play a pivotal role in his quest to deliver the county to his newfound political leader.
According to him, Cummings comes with “a freshness of ideas, the courage to continue to fight when it seems easier to surrender,” and leadership experience, which Liberia needs.
“I stand with Cummings because, in 2023, we must elect a leader to be president rather than elect a president whose
personal interest will supersede the citizens and they continue to live in poverty. Cummings is the right person
for the development of Liberia,” the former Senator argued.
Meanwhile, Cummings has accepted Yallah’s endorsement and hailed it as a historic day. He says he is
grateful to Yallah and the people of Bong County for making him their preferred choice for the presidency.
Cummings says as president, he would work assiduously to transform the “deplorable living conditions” of Liberians, as he reaffirmed his commitment to restoring basic social services and “revival of the ailing economy.”
He promised to create jobs as well as pay civil servants better salaries.
“However, to achieve these targeted goals, transforming Bong County and the country will require hard work, sacrifice, discipline, and dedication to duty.
“Liberians, including public officials, will have to break away from the past, live by the rules, obey the laws, and be warned that there will be consequences for violations under his administration as president,” he says. “[I will] lead by example and ensure that all Liberians, irrespective of political, religious, and tribal affiliations, will have equal rights and access to jobs and opportunities in government.”
Source: Liberian Observer
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