Ma Ellen is back for another 5 years!

Sirleaf wins Liberian elections by landslide

Liberian Elections Runoff Nov 10, 2011

Liberian Women will not have their Hopes for Peace and Democracy Dashed

Run-Off Elections in Liberia

Ballot for the Run-off Elections in Liberia

Boycotting the Ballot Box

As the opposition party (CDC) here in Liberia continues to hurl allegations at the National Election Commission (NEC) around the issues of fraud, Liberian’s are growing weary of all the mud slinging and talk of boycotting. Especially, because the CDC, have repeatedly been unable to support these allegations with substantial evidence. Last week, a second attempt to hold presidential and vice-presidential debates failed once again when the opposition refused to attend. Earlier last week, Winston Tubman, the standard bearer for the CDC was requested by ECOWAS to attend a meeting in Nigeria with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Rumblings are that he agreed at the talks to call off the boycott, but no sooner had his plane tires hit the tarmac in Monrovia than he had re-pledge his support of the boycott and urged CDC supporters for follow suit.

Unfortunately, today on the eve of the run-off election a gathering at CDC headquarters this afternoon took a violent direction. Police used teargas and fired live rounds into the crowed leaving many people injured and several others dead. This tragic turn of events will surely impact the confidence Liberians have about going to the ballot boxes tomorrow, and it is sad for me to think the country will not wake on Oct 8, 2011 with the same level of enthusiasm and dedication for the democratic process as they did on October 11, 2011. One can only hope that as Liberians lay down to rest tonight they have one thing on their minds and that is peace, above all else.

Cultural Input

I have been posting a lot recently about the elections and more formal systems of governance and political activism, here is another perspective on political activism that can be found in Liberia.

Liberian hip-co

Liberians not yet done with Democratic Duty: Preliminary Results Yield Run-off

According to the preliminary results released by NEC (National Election Commission), Liberians will be heading to the polls once again on November 8, 2011 to determine who will lead the country for the next five years.

Many Liberians are not surprised by the announcement that this first round of elections has resulted in a run-off; with 16 presidential candidates and the need to win 50% plus one vote it seemed unlikely from the start that any candidate would achieve this number during the initial race.

For some Liberians there is a sense of déjà vu, with the 2005 elections also resulted in a run-off with then presidential candidate George Weah of the CDC (Congress for Democratic Change) leading the first round and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the UP (Unity Party) coming in at a close second. However, in 2005 in the second round Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the UP were able to make significant gains during the two weeks of campaigning prior to the run-off and she came back to top George Weah in the final race.

For the 2011 election, incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been up against a new CDC presidential candidate Winston A.Tubman and she has lead the first round with 44% of the vote. If anything has been learned from the 2005 process, it’s that going into the second round of campaigning, scheduled to start on October 26^th it is really any candidates’ game.

The important thing for all political parties and candidates to remember during the run-off is that regardless of how eager they are to secure the position of head of state, they must put the country and Liberians first and continue to engage in peaceful, respectful and fare campaigning. The ECC (Election Coordinating Committee) will continue to monitor the electoral process and encourage all stakeholders to respect the outcomes of the elections and the will of the Liberian people. Today they issued a press release that stated:

During this critical period of the electoral process, the ECC urges all political parties and candidates to maintain the peace, and wait for NEC to release the final results. Any grievances thereafter should be addressed according to law and through the NEC as the initial course of redress. In the interim, they should refrain from making public statements that could incite violence and undermine the credibility of the elections that have been effectively administered thus far.

Like in any country during a time of heated political campaigning, candidates and political party supporter will likely have the strong temptation to engage in some political mud slinging. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that in a country still working to build civil societies confidence in the democratic process, they must take real caution to heed the advice of the ECC and refrain from engaging in any activities that may “undermine the entire electoral process and the gains made thus far in strengthening democracy and maintaining peace and stability in Liberia”.

Dedication to Democracy – Liberians Take to the Polls

Search for Common Ground has published my article about my experience as an ECC election observer here.