Liberia Decides: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Kicks Off
Liberian presidential and parliamentary elections for House of Senate and House of Representatives are set to hold today with lots of focus on the presidential poll.
About 2.4 million voters will be casting their votes in today's election with 20 candidates vying for the post of president including George Weah the current president who is a member of Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), elected in 2017. He is seeking a second six-year term. President Weah assumed the position, leveraging his iconic stature as the inaugural and sole African recipient of football's highest individual honor, the Ballon d'Or, in 1995.
In 2017, George Weah triumphed with a surge of positive outlook, instilling optimism in a nation that had faced immense turmoil from two consecutive civil wars spanning from 1989 to 2003, as well as the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016. This noteworthy achievement signaled the country's inaugural transition of power through democratic means since 1944. The leader pledged to address issues of poverty, generate employment opportunities, improve infrastructure, and combat corruption.
The other candidates include former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party (UP), Alexander B Cummings, a former Coca-Cola executive, who has partnered with the Liberty Party, as the leader of the Alternative National Congress amongst others.
The upcoming presidential election marks the fourth one in the country since the war ended. However, this will be the first election without the assistance of the United Nations mission that previously supported the country's elections commission.
Observers from the European Union, African Union, ECOWAS (the West African bloc), and the United States have been sent to the region, which has recently experienced a series of coups.
For quite some time, Liberia has faced a significant problem with corruption, which has consistently undermined people's confidence in the government. Additionally, during Weah's initial term, there have been numerous corruption scandals that have emerged.
In 2018, there were news reports about the disappearance of a container holding $100 million (equivalent to 18 billion Liberian dollars) and allegations of mishandling a $25 million cash injection plan aimed at reducing the surplus of Liberian dollars in circulation.
Experts suggest that the election will serve as a public verdict on the ruling party's performance thus far and to avoid a runoff, the victor in the presidential election must obtain a majority of the votes cast, which is 50% plus one additional vote.
