MONROVIA – In the wake of huge uncertain over the holding of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) ahead of the 2023 general and presidential elections, the daughter of the fallen Vision Bearer and Political Leader of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Counselor Charles Walker Brumskine, has called for calm and genuine reconciliation within the LP and a keen concentration on the combat against poverty, corruption and other vices for the betterment of Liberia and its citizens.
The LP is one of the political parties that make up the CPP. Other parties that are part of the CPP are: the former ruling Unity Party (UP), Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the All Liberian Party (ALP).
For months now, the party has been embroiled into internal wrangling and crisis ahead of a primary to elect a Standard Bearer for the CPP. Executives and supporters have been divided following a clear show of disunity and different political interests being shown by both the LP’s Political Leader Senator Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence and its embattled Chairman Musa Hassan Bility.
But addressing a news conference in Congo Town, outside Monrovia on Tuesday, December 21, Attorney Charlyne Bumskine pointed out that though she does not intend to support any of the parties, all sides should come together and reconcile in keeping with respect for the rule of law and her father’s dreams for the nation and its people.
She wondered while the LP, as an institution that comprises of some of the most patriotic, compassionate, brilliant young people in Liberia, and consistently provided constructive criticism and alternatives to the former ruling government of the Unity Party would continue to be embroiled into political crisis that intend to taint her father’s legacy.
She added that the party also pushed for better electoral mechanisms in 2017, produced four current Senators, from three of the largest counties in Liberia and for the past few years has been the only party to proudly produce a female senator.
She said all parties should drop their weapons and return to normalcy with a forgiven heart.
““My intent here today is to evoke the memory and the legacy of the man whose sacrifices gave birth to this great institution. I choose to fall on no side but instead I choose to STAND on the side of Liberty Party. I stand on the right side. I chose to stand with the principles and values that Liberty Party was built on. I chose to stand with the masses who are despairingly watching what is being played out in the public arena”.
“Now we must come together under the rule of law and reconcile. I know that this will not be easy. I know that there is tremendous hurt and anger of both sides. This is understandable. This speaks to the strength and the passion of our Party. But now, it is time to turn the grenades and rockets, the machine guns and knives away from each other in the party and launch them at poverty, corruption, lack of patriotism and all other societal ills”.
She added that the time is far spent and Liberia is on the brink of a new dawn, adding that, history will judge the LP and its leaders as being one of the conduits to the new dawn if those negative vices which triggered the internal wrangling are addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
Atty. Brumskine maintained that executives, partisans and supporters of the LP should strengthen themselves so that they “may reach across the aisle to our sister parties within the CPP as well as the ruling establishment to provide options, ideas, and policies for the new Liberia”.
She emphasized that despite the high level of betrayals, tremendous opposition within and out of the party, now is the time for total reconciliation.
“If we do not reconcile as a Party, we are useless to this nation! What good is a Party with a leadership structure and executive committee recognized by the NEC but who do not have a strong constituent base, what good is a strong and large constituent base with a leadership structure that is not recognized by NEC? We are nothing until we ONE! If we continue to fight like this we are of service to NO ONE! Certainty, not any other political institution, and definitely of no use to the country. The masses are looking to us! Our country needs strong political institutions as the prop for good governance”!
She noted that reconciliation and the upholding of the rule of law must not be downplayed by any parties within the LP.
Stick to laws
She emphasized that any party or a government must establish its governing laws and stick to it even if it does not work in the interest of a few.
However, Atty. Brumskine noted, that if the laws do not work in the interest of the majority, the party then decides, through proper governance methods, to change the law, but the laws should never be changed to appease the whims of a few.
“This is what Charles Brumskine stood for. In 2017, when my father was faced with one of the most difficult stages of his political career when he challenged the election results, ultimately to his detriment, he told his supporters that they must adhere to the rule of law. It did not benefit him, but he respected it”.
She said as a result of her late father embodiment to the rule of law, he did not suffer “compromises and petit corruption” at any level in this institution.
“Brumskine saw LP as his family. And nothing was more important to him than family. Brumskine did not come from much money; he built LP from his earnings as a lawyer. He was not a millionaire, far from it. But people flocked to Liberty Party because they saw something different about that institution, something they had not seen before. They saw an institution being led by someone who had strong values and principles and never compromised such, not for money, not for recognition, not even for the Presidency”!
“To the office of the Political Leader, to the Executive Committee and Chairman, I say now is the time. Tomorrow is not promised. I challenge you to step up, put your differences aside and agree to the reconciliation council for the betterment of the Party and the Nation. I ask you to find it in your heart to come in the middle and lead from there”.
Seven-member Committee
Atty. Brumskine further proposed the setting up of a seven-member “Council of Elders Committee” to truly reconcile, rebuild, reform and recover Liberty Party.
She recommended that the committee should be tasked with the responsibility to engage the leadership of the party to find means of making all views compatible and to help find a way forward.
“This council will mediate and make findings and offer recommendations, behind closed doors, as a means of moving forward. We will ask the office of the Political Leader to recommend 2 persons, the Executive Committee to recommend 2 persons and we will have 3 neutral members of the council. I offer to sit on the council” .We can use the home of Cllr. Brumskine as the venue. I believe his spirit is there and will guide us. I strongly believe that all we need to do is take the first step, God and our moral obligation to this country will lead us to the rightful end”.
“Hold Your Head High”
Speaking further, Atty. Brumskine beseeched partisans and supporters of the LP to not be ashamed of what is transpiring within the party.
She emphasized that the party is not dead and as such, its partisans and supporters should “hold” their heads “high”.
She urged them not to allow themselves to be used to satisfy the interest of others to the detriment of the LP.
“We are not dead! We are in birthing pains, we are going through Labor. Liberty Party will surely produce a unified leadership that will plow forward towards a better Liberia. We see you! We hear your cries, we feel your pain. Remember what is at stake, your blood, sweat and tears are at stake. Do not allow competing interest to blind you. Demand a united and reconciled party”.
“To the people of Grand Bassa County, the land of my father, the people who still grieve and mourn the passing of one of their greatest leaders. I promise you that we will not let you down. I remain true to the principles and legacy of Cllr. Brumskine. This Party will not die, we will hold the Party up; we will keep the Party alive. Cllr. Brumskine’s dream will come to pass!
Scramble for leadership
Atty. Brumskine admitted that she chose to remain silent in her personal capacity during a time of intense and extreme noise of the LP in the public sphere.
She recalled that following the demise of her father in 2019, she was extremely cognizant that there would be an immediate scramble for leadership in the party.
She emphasized that as the closest person to her dad both politically and personally, she was aware of being an “immediate target” for those who wanted to reduce and remove any remnants of Brumskine in the LP and take it in a new direction.
“I also knew that I would be an immediate consideration for leadership for those who wanted to continue a Brumskine legacy. At that time, I was in a place of deep mourning. I decided and verbalized loudly to everyone that my Father had left a structure in place and that I did not intend to vie for Chairmanship or the Political Leadership of the Party”.
Vulnerable LP
Atty. Brumskine observed that the LP became vulnerable immediate after the demise of her father.
“The vulnerability of Liberty Party, after losing its vision bearer, had already begun to show in 2019. There were many who wanted to oust the current leadership, even move the political leader, and there many who wanted to keep the current leadership”.
She recalled that her goal at the time was to sit at the table and hold LP together for continuity of the values and principles that her late father had established and the many sacrifices that so many people had made for the party.
The Brumskine’s dream
Liberty Party was founded on May 29, 2005 by Cllr. Brumskine along with the Late Jerome Walker, Romeo Bartea, the Late Able Volker of Grand Bassa County, Abdullai Kamara of Grand Cape Mount, Lamin Kpargoi of Grand Cape Mount County, Milton Quaye of Marlyand County, among others.
Prior to the formation of the Party, Cllr. Brumskine’s vision was supported by others including Deputy Speaker Fonati J. Koffa, Mr. Debar Allen, and Mr. Jah Fahnbulleh.
Atty. Brumskine recalled that former Grand Bassa County lawmaker Byron Browne, Mr. Jacob Smith, Ms. Mariah Fyneah, Mr. Nathaniel Toe were the backbone of her late father.
According to her, the party was founded as “an alternative to the status quo”.
She pointed out that at a time the country was gearing up for its first national democratic elections after the brutal civil conflict, her late father sought to use LP as a vehicle to move from the old governance system to a new way of doing things.
She recalled that Cllr. Brumskine had a desire for real change in Liberia and his desire was to see change in every aspect of society.
“My father was one of the first politicians to actively support and assist women in the informal market sector move from the market stall to brick-and-mortar stores. He believed in economic equality for all. He believed in the idea of Liberianization and protectionism of certain industries in our country for the betterment of Liberians. Thus, he created a political institution that would also prioritize the basic needs of the Liberian people”.
LP built on Christian principles?
Atty. Brumskine disclosed that though the LP was established by Cllr. Brumskine based on Christian principles, the party is “shared by our Muslim brothers and sisters”.
“He was a man who hailed from Grand Bassa County, but opened the Party to Chairmen from Grand Kru, Montserrado, & Lofa, counties. He was a man of uncompromising principle. His yes was his yes and his no was his no. He taught me that sometimes when you stand up to do the right thing in the face of incredible difficulty NOT for the benefit of yourself but of others, people will perceive you as crazy, but you must do the right thing anyway!”
Opposing changes in leadership
Atty. Brumskine recalled that in 2020, the leadership of the LP took a decision to amend the party’s Constitution that existed during the leadership of Cllr Brumskine.
She added that some members of the leadership also decided that the party should elect new officers.
Following the decisions, it was agreed upon that all positions were to be placed up for grabs, except the political leader’s position.
She pointed out that though she did not oppose the amendment to the party’s constitution, she vehemently opposed the election of new officers of the LP.
Atty. Brumskine emphasized that she at the time argued that the officers who were elected during Cllr. Brumskine’s leadership still enjoyed the confidence of the party and had the legal right of their tenures and terms.
“I saw the arbitrary decision to elect new officers in 2020 as an unnecessary unraveling of a system that was intact, a system left by Charles Brumskine that did not need to be changed in less than one year after his death”.
“Charles Brumskine had taught me that an institution is only as strong as its governance system. When we begin to arbitrarily, without justification, remove leaders from their elected position, we have compromised the integrity of the institution and the foundations of the rule of law. When that is done the institution ceases to be credible. Brumskine believed in credible institutions! Brumskine spent a vast majority of his time in opposition building LP to be an institution of honesty and integrity”!
LP Not Father’s property
Atty. Brumskine stated that though she expressed her concerns during the process, she was accused of being entitled or thinking that the LP was her father’s “property or farm”.
“There were assumptions that I wanted to be either political leader or chairman of the Party. And people on both sides of the aisle ran with this. Neither was true. Anyone who knew my father knew that he had disdain for entitlement and did not raise his children to be entitled to anything because it had his name on it”.
“Even when he had one of the most respected law firms in the nation, he and I decided that it was important that I not rely solely on the name of my father as an entry point into the legal profession, but I earn my stripes through my own hard work, therefore, I established my own firm. My father worked for everything he obtained and expected no less of me. So I felt no sense of entitlement to leadership at Liberty Party”.
She recalled that her late father taught her that a political institution is only as strong as four elements, including its philosophy or ideology, absolute adherence to good internal governance and rule of law, ability to convince the general voting population of the benefit of adopting the Party’s ideology and voting the Party into office, and the ability of its Party leaders and elected officials to reach across the aisle, work with other institutions and collaboratively work towards the common good of the country.
“I want you all to know that although the public saw me as being silent, I have continuously been engaging the leadership and stakeholders of Liberty Party behind the scenes. I have remained publicly silent because I wanted to respect the role of our leaders in the Party. My hope was that the leadership would resolve the issues of the Party and never allow it to get to this point. But now my public silence no longer benefits the partisans of LP”.
Partisans and supporters of the LP believed that the latest comments made by the daughter of their fallen Political Leader may settle the dust within the LP and pave the way for reconciliation between supporters and loyalists of Senator Lawrence and Mr. Bility.
The split within the LP prompted the premature endorsement of the ambition of the Political Leader of the ANC, Mr. Alexander Benedict Cummings to head the CPP’s ticket come 2023.
This decision recently prompted the former ruling Unity Party (UP) to reportedly endorse a resolution from its National Executive Committee (NEC) to withdraw from the CPP.
Though things appear to be falling apart within the CPP as thousands of partisans and supporters remain caught between the scissor to either “remain with the devil you know or the angel you have not seen”, the latest call for reconciliation within the LP, when adhere to, would serve as a stepping stone or avenue to revamp the once vibrant and forceful collaboration-a move that will be so displeasing to the ruling establishment.