Monrovia — In a rebuke of Liberia’s political establishment, Alexander B. Cummings, Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), has labeled the entrenched elite across the three branches of government as the true architects of the country’s prolonged suffering. Speaking during the party’s homecoming event at its national headquarters on Tuesday, Cummings declared that Liberia’s woes are not the result of natural misfortune but of deliberate self-interest by what he calls the “Political Class.”
“These are the people in the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature who allocate vast portions of the national budget to themselves while the masses go to bed hungry,” Cummings asserted, adding that the current system rewards loyalty to party and personality over public service.
His remarks come at a time when the Unity Party-led government, under President Joseph N. Boakai, is facing growing scrutiny over governance and service delivery. Cummings challenged the Liberian electorate to reflect honestly on their conditions today compared to seven years ago, and to hold those in power accountable for their choices.
While the ANC struggled at the polls in 2023—garnering just 0.1% of the presidential vote after a fifth-place finish in 2017—Cummings insisted that the election results did not reflect the true will of the people. Despite irregularities, he said, the party opted not to contest the results to avoid further national tension.
Rejecting persistent rumors that the ANC is on the verge of collapse, Cummings announced a period of “re-engagement, reactivation, renewal, and reawakening” across all fifteen counties. He encouraged former partisans who had left the party “for various reasons” to return and rebuild a credible alternative to Liberia’s dominant political forces.
“We are not here to wish the government failure,” he said. “We are here to provide solutions, because when government fails, it is the people who suffer.”
In a move that signals renewed momentum, Nimba County District #9 Representative Taa Wongbe officially rejoined the ANC during the homecoming event. Wongbe said his return is meant to “shake up” the party’s leadership and reignite political energy in the aftermath of the 2023 elections.
“Mr. Cummings has been silent since the last election,” Wongbe stated. “I’ve come to tell him to get back on his political feet. The young people of Liberia are counting on the ANC.”
The party also used the occasion to throw its weight behind independent candidate Edith Gongloe-Weh in the upcoming April 22 senatorial by-election in Nimba County. Cummings pledged vigorous campaigning for Madam Gongloe-Weh, underscoring his support for women in leadership. “I have one daughter and three granddaughters,” he said. “I want them to compete equally with their male counterparts.”
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