Liberia’s Vice President Joseph Boakai (Left) and former international footballer George Weah (right). The two are to face a runoff to determine the next president of Liberia on November 7. However, election complains are threatening to overshadow the runoff. PHOTO | JOEL SAGET | AFP
RUNOFF: ANXIETY, COMPLAINTS AS LIBERIA AWAITS NOV. 7
November 7th, 2017 is the date for the runoff presidential election between Liberia’s Vice President Joseph Boakai and former international footballer George Weah. But the mood in that West African country as they expect the election is that of anxiety and complaint.
The Chairman of Liberia National Electoral Comission (NEC) Jerome Korkoya told journalists that the commission had received 56 different election-related complaints so far, which were “being handled according to due process and in a transparent and open manner.”
The NEC wrote on its facebook page “REMEMBER TO VOTE”a daily reminder to Liberians that the final stage of selecting their president is fast approaching.
Reviewing some of those complaints, experts say the disputes, whether they are legitimate or not could affect turnout and erode voters’ faith in the electoral process at a critical moment in Liberia’s history.
The November 7th election is significant in all respects. It will be the first democratic handover of power in seven decades as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, its first Woman president, steps down.
But hopes are high that the election may end well. The political gimmick which played out in Kenya may not have its way in Liberia, partly because the incumbent has finished her tenure or just by sheer simplicity of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Both local and international observers who monitored the last election said the process was free and fair. Going by that observation, it is expected that the government may not interfere with the process.
Weah and Boakai are mounting last-minute pushes for funding and support at both in Liberia and abroad, Liberians are preoccupied with another political process playing out at the electoral commission and potentially in the country’s courts.
A report says no independent source has yet given a figure close to “thousands” affected by problems on voting day, but the louder the parties shout, the more disenchanted the voting public becomes.