Cummings Lauds Lofa Polls, Congratulates Jallah -Berates Weah, Urges Opposition Unity

MONROVIA – The Political leader and Standard Bearer of the Alternative National Congress(ANC), Alexander B. Cummings has lauded what he called the peaceful conduct of the just concluded Lofa County Senatorial by-election and congratulated the winner, Cllr. Joseph Jallah, who ran as an independent for his electoral feat while on the other hand berating the stewardship of President George Manneh Weah and called for greater unity among the opposition community as a way of wresting power from the ruling establishment in 2023.

In his post-election speech which he delivered on behalf of the Collaborating Political Parties(CPP), Cummings said to have the Senate doing business regularly without the full representation of Lofa for almost two years was wrong, adding that  every constituency and county must be fully represented in the government because the government belongs to all of the people. “Therefore, as promised, the CPP welcomes the choice of the people of Lofa – the choice of Cllr. Joseph K. Jallah, who ran and won as an independent”, he said.

“After 5 years of leadership of our country, the ruling CDC could not run in Lofa in its own name and on its own record. When one cannot stand on what one has done, one has to know that he or she has done nothing good enough on which to stand to run.

“President Weah knows that he has failed the Liberian people. The CDC knows that President Weah and his friends have failed the Liberian people. President Weah and the CDC are right to be ashamed of their 5 years of leadership of our country – 5 years of lies and stealing, and 5 years of a few government officials making themselves rich while Liberians have continued to suffer.  President Weah and  the CDC did not win in Lofa – the people of Lofa won”, he said.

Putting the result of the election into its proper perspective, Cummings said the result of the election in Lofa is an important reminder to the opposition community, stating from whatever angle it may be taken, the most important message that can be drawn from those who desire change in the  country should be clear and it is “Together, we are stronger” and that the Liberian people have shown that they are more willing to trust the opposition if they are together.

“In 2020, together and under our leadership of the CPP, the opposition won.  The CPP itself won 6 senatorial seats in the Midterm Elections including in the so-called CDC stronghold of Montserrado and supported five other successful candidates. The  ruling CDC fought and spent as much as they could but the opposition victories could not be denied.

“Yes, Liberians want change. Yes, people are suffering. And yes,  things are only getting worse. But Liberians are also tired of the division and disunity. People want us to move forward – boldly, differently and reconcile.  Liberians do not just want a change of individuals – our people want a change in the system, which for too long, has kept our country corrupt, and our people poor.

“In these results, both in 2020 and now in 2022, Liberians showed that they are no longer interested in political strongholds. Liberians want their country released from the economic stranglehold caused mostly by corruption and mismanagement. Our people want jobs, foreign investments, better roads, better schools, and better hospitals”, Cummings asserted.

Mr. Cummings who became the standard bearer of the CPP by default used the occasion to dwell on the core issues affecting the majority of the Liberian people which include but not limited to just wages and salaries of teachers, doctors, nurses, police and other security officers, civil servants and other workers in the country to go up just like the prices of food, transportation, gas and fuel are going up. He said there is no one who is able to give convincing reasons why salaries of workers cannot be increased because it is possible if stealing is stopped and the resources are better managed.

In an assuring tone that the ruling establishment continues to lose its main support bases, Cummings said “From Montserrado to Lofa, the message of the Liberian people is the same: Political strongholds will continue to fall in protest of the economic chokeholds Liberians are experiencing.  People are right to demand improved living conditions, and assurances of a better future because Liberia is too rich for Liberians to be so poor”.

Reflecting on the ordeal he went through for months for what he termed as political persecution and not opting to seek for revenge, he said he took the high road and will continue to do so in the best interests of the country and also that rather than breaking up the CPP, the ANC and Liberty Party stop up against the tide and held the institution together.

“Also, rather than break up the CPP, with the Liberty Party, we agreed to keep it together. We believe that breaking promises to the people is not the way we will change our country. We will continue to keep the doors of the CPP wide open because we know that our country needs all of its citizens to work together to rescue it. To do this, as an opposition community, we need to put aside our personal grievances.

“This is why, once again, I extend an olive branch of peace and friendship to all opposition parties, other CPP stakeholders, and the broader Liberian opposition community. I also asked for reconciliation in the Liberty Party”, he said.

In his closing speech, Cummings took a swipe at the Weah led leadership and lamented that his heart bleeds to see where the country is, how Liberians continue to suffer, and how President Weah and his government have continued to dig the country deeper and deeper into a terrible hole. He said the President can spend his time playing around and dancing but it will not change the fact that lifting the country out of what he called “Weah hole” will require hard work and collective effort.

He said in many important countries around the world, people continue to love Liberia, but they have given up on the incompetent and corrupt leadership of President Weah. “Therefore, the consequences of giving President Weah a second chance, to further corrupt and mismanage our country, will be very bad for the Liberian people and our country, and will take too long for all of us to recover from”, he said.

“Already, President Weah and his administration have done more harm and damage to our country than many could have imagined they could do in 5 years. And even worse, President Weah and his friends have shown that they cannot and will not change”, he concluded.

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