-Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine Assures As She Accepts Cummings’ Running Mate Offer
By: Jerromie S. Walters
Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, the daughter of fallen Liberty Party (LP) political leader Charles Walker Brumskine, has been handpicked by Mr. Alexander B. Cummings to contest as his running mate in the pending October 2023 general elections, a decision she has accepted and guaranteed their commitment to bring the change Liberians have long yielded for.
Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine will contest along with Mr. Cummings as vice presidential candidate on the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) ticket in the October 2023 general elections.
With a passionate assurance of real change by Cllr. Brumskine and Mr. Cummings, their decision has been overwhelmingly venerated by citizens of Grand Bassa County, as they now feel part of the presidential process.
In her official remark at the occasion late Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine hailed Mr. Cummings for picking her and further disagreed with individuals that have had the perception that she must only begin at the level of the representative seat, which she earlier announced, rather than as a vice presidential candidate.
According to her, the choice now is urgent, and it heavily relies on every Liberian, including women, considering the poor health condition, the huge level of poverty and lack of access to education, the hacking of investors, and several others.
“Liberia is a society in decline; a society in decline doesn’t have the luxury to wait; we don’t have time to wait for your time; a society like Liberia must have an urgency like now; we must quickly grab the willing, the best, and the brightest”.
Though many have argued that she has never served in government, the aspirants debunked that thought, as she referenced several capacities she has served in, including her honest and professional role in the legal field.
“We should be less concerned about the number of years in government and more concerned about the urgency of Liberia’s problems,” she articulated.
She continued, “I’m not a career politician; I came to the political discourse because I believe in a better Liberia, a Liberia of inclusivity, a Liberia led by honest, innovative, and courageous men and women, leaders with the faith to transform this country and with the will to make high decisions to implement that vision”.
Cllr. Brumskine further emphasized that Liberians are exhausted, and she believes they have a choice, which is Mr. Cummings, who has chosen her.
“We will fix Liberia”, Cllr. assured, and further stressed that their team will deliver the deliverables Liberians are lacking. “I promise you that I will work for you”.
The female vice presidential candidate’s decision to accept Mr. Cummings’ request heavily relies on the interest of Liberians, and she further stressed that no revelation is born out of perfect timing and history has never been made by people who played small.
“History has never been made by people who play small; history has never been made by people who follow conventional norms; revolutionaries are not told what to do by Facebook people; revolutionaries are leaders who lead and others follow,” she said.
She praised Mr. Cummings for picking her as his running mate, as she believes in making use of opportunity, especially given that she holds the belief that Liberia’s problem needs an urgent solution.
The astute female lawyer and politician also thanked her family, the people of Grand Bassa County, and supporters of the CPP for their support.
Cummings’ choice to have Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine as his running mate was consented to and approved by elders and traditional leaders, supporters of the Liberty Party (LP), and the CPP, as well as citizens of River Cess, Grand Bassa, and all other counties of the Bassa belt.
Charlyne Brumskine, a young, vibrant, and well-disciplined female lawyer and politician, is being considered for the country’s second highest office by the standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander B. Cummings, a quest the people of the Bassa belt have guaranteed their full support for.
Charlyne’s father, the late Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, was known as the political godfather of Grand Bassa County, and he constantly surfaced in the top four during Liberia’s last three postwar elections. In the 1990s, he served as senator for Grand Bassa County, which is the Liberty Party’s stronghold.
Now that she has been chosen and fully accepted to contest in the presidential elections, she’s now one of the very few females to contest for the country’s vice presidency on the ticket of a major opposition party.
Consistent with her astuteness, Charlyne secured the highest mark on last year’s Supreme Court bar exam, a sign of her readiness to tirelessly execute the professional legacy of the late Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine.
Her capable candidacy as running mate to Mr. Cummings could set her up to exceed what her father attempted for years but didn’t succeed at.
From his end, Mr. Cummings applauded the people of Bassa, Liberia, and especially the mother of the female lawyer.
He hailed her mother for giving him her daughter, which he believes will serve as a potential companion for him.
More importantly, he said that together he and Cllr. Brumskine will change Liberia, as he guaranteed that the women of Liberia will have equal partnership under their administration.
He vowed to deliver the deliverables and all of what Liberians are expecting, with the core value of good governance.
At the same time, defeated Grand Bassa County senatorial aspirant Gbesonga Finley congratulated Cllr. Brumskine for her preference as Mr. Cummings’ running mate.
He said it demonstrates the commitment of Mr. Cummings and the leadership of the CPP to prioritizing young people in all spheres, especially women’s political participation.
Moreover, he mentioned that the team and the reasons that prompted it represent an opportunity to enhance reconciliation, unity, and healing in the county.
According to him, for so long the people of Bassa have been divided on political lines, and with the recent decision, he wants them to rally their support for the female candidate, as he said her candidacy symbolizes unity, reconciliation, and a shared vision.
“We must now unite and support our own sister and daughter in becoming the next Vice President.”
With this, he endorsed the nomination of Cllr. Brumskine as the vice standard bearer of the CPP and Mr. Cummings as the standard bearer of the CPP and the next president of the Republic of Liberia.
“Bassa first, Bassa last; may God continue to bless all of us as we endeavor and strive to make Liberia a better country and place for us”.
From her end, Mrs. Brumskine, the mother of Cllr. Brumskine, admonished her daughter to make the maximum use of the opportunity and to intrinsically support and transform Liberia through good governance.
She hailed the people of Bassa, the Liberty Party, and the CPP for entrusting her with such a prestigious post, and she’s convinced that her daughter will greatly perform in it.
The councilor’s mother reflected on the days of her father and how he significantly touched the lives of scores of citizens in Bassa and Liberia at large.
She venerated her daughter and alluded to the fact that the opportunity that’s available today is a result of the decisions she made along the way.
Moreover, she believes in her daughter’s potential and is also of the strongest opinion that the journey will be successful.
Will this benefit Cllr. Charlyne’s political sojourn?
Following reports weeks ago about Mr. Cummings’ interest in picking Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine as his running mate, there were different reactions from the public, as many advised that it wouldn’t have been a good decision for the female politician to accept Mr. Cummings’ offer, considering the fact that she earlier declared her intention to contest at the district level in Grand Bassa.
Additionally, many emphasized that she’s not prepared for her post and that it will be a wasted struggle considering that Mr. Cummings’ is not among the favorite two candidates in the pending elections.
However, some believe that it is a good decision, and it has paved the way for the young politician and will even make her a major contender in the 2029 presidential election if it doesn’t go well for the CPP.
Pundits have said that whether it goes well with the CPP after 2023 or not, Charlyne will be a profitable political commodity at the moment and in a suitable position to be picked as running mate by any other experienced candidate, a ticket that will have what it takes to secure a victory.
Moreover, they are based on the belief that it is a proven fact that if Cummings’ presidential quest doesn’t go well in October of this year, he will have a better chance in 2029 if he decides to contest, and this will require the involvement of people like Charlyne Brumskine, with whom he already has a very comfortable relationship.
Contrary thought
Some still believe that Charlyne’s possibility of winning at the district level is greater than it is in the case of running as a vice for Mr. Cummings.
Though there are still uncertainties about the success of the ticket, the people of Grand Bassa County have resolved to support Charlyne’s political endeavor.
Many have said that Charlyne’s recent decision to contest as Mr. Cummings’ running mate cripples her political future, especially if they don’t win.
The late Charles Walker Brumskine’s effect
Scores of supporters and citizens of Grand Bassa County who our reporter spoke with were somehow shocked about the pronouncement of Charlyne as Mr. Cummings’ running mate, especially when she earlier declared her intention to contest as representative of Grand Bassa County District #3.
However, the disclosure by Mr. Cummings didn’t change the people’s decision to support Charlyne, as many of them we spoke with assured their full support for her candidacy but attributed it to her father’s commitment to the county.
The uniqueness of gratitude the people of Grand Bassa are poised with was demonstrated when they said that because of their late political godfather, their support for Charlyne remains unwavering.
Hannah Peter, a citizen of Grand Bassa County, pledged her unflinching support for Cllr. Charlyne’s political quest and attributed her decision to how helpful the late Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine was to her family.
“Because I voted for her father and he didn’t win, and he used to care for us until he died, and now his daughter is there, so I will vote for her anytime and in any position, I will vote for her,” she said.
Like Hannah, scores of other citizens of the Bassa Belt have committed themselves to ensuring a satisfactory result for the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) come October.
Charlyne and Nyonblee’s struggle over Grand Bassa County
Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence recently endorsed the candidacies of former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung in the October general elections.
At the endorsement ceremony, she noted that after collaborative talks with Cummings broke down, especially after what she termed attempts by the CPP presidential candidate team to blackmail her into accepting their proposal as a precondition to regaining control of the Liberty Party from its chairman, Musa H. Bility, after a long internal conflict,
Senator Lawrence’s support for the Boakai-Koung ticket, however, has been met with a strong reaction from the Chairman of the Liberty Party, Musa Bility, who has vowed to take legal action against her if she continues to act in the name of the Liberty Party.
With this and a few others, there’s a possibility that Charlyne will become the next political leader of the Liberty Party (LP), as the current political leader, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, was expelled, and the Party is now in control of Musa Bility, who’s vigorously supporting the presidential bid of Mr. Cummings.
If she becomes the Liberty Party’s political leader, it is wise to believe that the people of Grand Bassa County will prefer supporting Charlyne in her vice presidential bid through the CPP, which is the legal fraction of the Liberty Party (LP), especially now that they have committed themselves to the process.
LP conflict
The Liberty Party, whose founding political leader Charles Brumskine is Charlyne’s late father, has been enmeshed in a long-standing legal and political battle that has seen the Supreme Court rule in Musa Bility’s favor as the legitimate chairman of the party despite attempts by Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence to have him expelled.
Bility argued that the Supreme Court’s ruling, which has given him the authority to lead the affairs of the party, remains in effect and, therefore, the senator has no right to claim the role of a standard bearer while making her political moves.
In the wake of the Wednesday, April 12, 2023, Supreme Court final opinion that recognized the leadership of the Liberty Party National Executive Committee under the aegis of National Chairman Musa Hassan Bility as the only body authorized to manage the day-to-day affairs of the party, Chairman Bility issued a stern external memo to the National Elections Commission (NEC), political parties, and the international community warning against doing business with Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence as she is no longer the Political Leader of the Liberty Party.
According to the April 16, 2023 Memo, Mr. Bility’s clarion call is predicated on the recent Supreme Court ruling, which explicitly declared the LP National Executive Committee as the only authority clothed with managing the party’s affairs, especially against the background of Senator Lawrence having been expelled from the position of Political Leader in March 2022, for which she appealed to the Court to invalidate the expulsion on the basis that the LP National Executive Committee did not have the authority to expel her.
“The recent SC ruling explicitly addresses this matter by declaring the LP National Executive Committee is the body clothed with the authority to manage the affairs of the Party.” In addition, her tenure as political leader has expired since October 2022,” the Bility External Memo stated.
The memo comes in the wake of the Supreme Court handing down its final ruling in the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the case Musa Hassan Bility and others of the Liberty Party (Appellees) v. National Elections Commission, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, and Emmanuel Azango (Respondents), declaring the Liberty Party (LP) Constitution filed at the National Election Commission (NEC) and the LP leadership duly elected and inducted at the January 2021 LP Special National Convention in Gbarnga.
“We kindly inform you that Sen. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence is no longer the Political Leader of the Liberty Party (LP). Sen. Karnga-Lawrence was expelled from the position of Political Leader in March 2022 and appealed to the Court to invalidate the expulsion on the basis that the LP National Executive Committee did not have the authority to expel her because the LP 2021 Special National Convention that voted the National Executive Committee into leadership and the Constitution that came out of that Special National Convention were both illegitimate.
The recent SC ruling has explicitly addressed both matters by declaring that both the LP 2021 Special National Convention and the resulting Constitution are legitimate and that the LP National Executive Committee is, constitutionally, clothed with the authority to manage the affairs of the Party.
“In addition, as per the LP Constitution, her tenure as Political Leader has expired in October 2022,” the memo furthered.
The issuance of the External Memo also followed a Saturday, April 15, 2023, press statement from the Liberty Party National Chairman informing the public of the SC ruling and reiterating the party’s call for reconciliation and charting the way forward together, while urging all members, both home and abroad, to refrain from making public statements and holding events in the name of LP without the authorization of the National Executive Committee, as this would not only be illegal but would only serve to further the divide and render reconciliation futile.
However, subsequent to the issuance of the Saturday press statement, the Liberty Party, in an updated press statement issued Sunday, April 16, 2023, said it had learned that Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, former political leader of the LP, held a public meeting in the name of the LP in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, on April 15, 2023, and informed the attendees that the LP battle was not over.
Both Mr. Bility and Senator Lawrence have been in court up to the point of a Supreme Court ruling that out favored Lawrence and gave the upper hand to Bility on the management of the affairs of the party.
This conflict has seen the Liberty Party factionalized, with Senator Kangar-Lawrence of Grand Bassa County and Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon supporting the presidential ambition of the standard bearer of the Unity Party, Joseph Boakai, while Bility, on the other hand, is supporting the presidential ambition of the standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings, who was nominated as the standard bearer of the CPP.
