In Summary:
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During a MICAT press briefing, Deputy Information Minister Daniel Sando claimed that then CPP standard bearer Alexander Cummings “endorsed and voted” for former President Weah in the 2023 run-off.
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However, a review of media reports, party statements, and election observation reports found the endorsement claim to be incorrect, as it was the CPP, not Cummings personally, who endorsed Mr. Weah
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And there is no evidence to support his claim that Mr. Cummings voted for the former president
On October 7, Liberia’s Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs, Daniel O. Sando, claimed during the government’s regular press briefing that Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, Standard Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) in the 2023 presidential election, endorsed and voted for former President George Weah during the 2023 presidential run-off election.
At the time of the election, the CPP was made up of two political parties: the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and the Musa Bility faction of the Liberty Party (LP).
Deputy Minister Sando made the claim in reaction to Mr. Cummings’ recent appearance on Spoon FM, where the ANC leader criticized the Unity Party (UP) government, stating that “nothing has changed” since the UP took power. Cummings, recently re-elected as ANC standard bearer, was outlining his vision for Liberia ahead of the 2029 elections.
But, recounting his opposition days, Mr. Sando, who previously served as Vice Chair for Press and Public Affairs of the Liberty Party, described Mr. Cummings as a “dishonest” person. He claimed that although Cummings campaigned to remove President Weah, he later “endorsed and voted” for him [Mr. Weah] during the run-off.
The Claim
Said Deputy Minister Sando: “While in opposition, we all sought to form a common front… but what this political leader [Cummings] did tore that establishment apart…, So yes, in the end, what this political leader did clearly shows that he is very dishonest. The very man [Weah] to whom he issued a red card… he went back and endorsed and voted for him.”
Rating Justification
To fact-check if Mr. Cummings “endorsed and voted” for former President Weah during the 2023 presidential run-off election, we launched an online search and found several media reports published during and after the CPP endorsement of a candidate in the run-off elections.
According to the National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC), after the October 10 general elections, no presidential candidate secured the required 50 percent plus one vote as required by the Constitution. The NEC then announced a run-off on October 24, with George Weah (CDC) receiving 43.83% and Joseph Boakai (UP) receiving 43.44% of the votes.
But, before deciding whom to support in the run-off, the CPP issued a 12-point policy condition in October 2023, setting terms for any political party seeking its endorsement. At the time, Mr. Cummings instructed executives of the two CPP parties to consult their respective members before a final decision was made.
The 12-point proposal was widely reported by credible media outlets, including The Analyst, which can be seen here, Hot Pepper, here, and Voice of America (VOA), here, amongst several media reports.
We also searched and found a Facebook post containing an audio of Mr. Cummings dated November 2, 2023. This statement was released ahead of the CPP’s formal endorsement, announcing that although the CPP had decided to support a party in the second round, he (Mr. Cummings) had asked the party to remain neutral.
Before the official endorsement of the CDC, Mr. Cummings posted that the CPP had agreed for him to remain neutral
This pronouncement was also reported by several local and international outlets, including The Africa Report.
Further search also found a November 3, 2023 CPP’s press conference livestreamed on Focus on Liberia YouTube page and other platforms. The live broadcast lasted 1 hour and 2 minutes. During this event, the CPP officially endorsed the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
But Mr. Cummings was absent from the press conference. The endorsement was led by Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, the Vice Standard Bearer of the CPP, Musa Bility, and CPP Chairman Wilmot Paye Toe.
“We are here to announce to the country not a decision of an individual, but of the Collaborating Political Parties in its entirety,” Bility stated.
Mr. Toe then read the official statement:
“It is my distinguished pleasure and honor to announce to the world and the Liberian people that the partisans and executives of the CPP, representing the Liberty Party and the ANC, have resolved to support and endorse the re-election of President George Weah.”
We also searched and found another Facebook post by Mr. Cummings dated November 14, 2023, hours after casting his ballot. He said, “Although I did not publicly endorse anyone in the runoff, I voted a few hours ago and encourage all Liberians to do the same.”
This statement directly contradicts claims that he personally endorsed Weah during the 2023 run-off election.
Also, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) Final Report on the 2023 elections confirmed that “Alexander Cummings decided to remain neutral while the CPP as a party endorsed the CDC and some CPP candidates supported the UP.”
Conclusion
Based on these findings, we conclude that the claim made by Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs, Daniel O. Sando, that Mr. Cummings personally endorsed former President Weah in the 2023 presidential run-off election is incorrect. We also did not find proof that Mr. Cummings voted for Mr. Weah, considering that ballots are cast secretly during national elections in Liberia.
