President George Weah, who is seeking a second six-year term, is up against 19 other candidates, on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, more than 2.4 million Liberians will go to vote for a new president and members of their government. Right now, there are 19 people running to take over from the current president, George Weah, who is from the Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) and wants another six years in office.
The main competitors are Joseph Nyuma Boakai, who used to be vice president, and Alexander Cummings, a businessman. They were both part of a group called the Coalition of Political Parties (CPP), which had four parties working together. But they had some disagreements, and now they’re running separately in this election.
Tiawan Gongloe, a well-known human rights lawyer and law professor, is also running for president with the Liberian People’s Party. He used to be the country’s solicitor general during Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s time as president.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was the first woman in Africa to be elected as a president back in 2006. But even now, having more women in politics is still a challenge in Liberia and many other parts of the continent. Out of the 20 people running for president on Tuesday, only two are women. One of them is Sara Nyanti, who used to be a deputy special representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
George Weah
Weah, who wants to be president again, says he’s sure he’ll win right from the start. He’s been in charge since 2017.
Weah is part of the CDC party and he’s chosen Jewel Howard-Taylor as his running partner. She used to be married to the old president, Charles Taylor, who’s in jail for doing very bad things in Sierra Leone.
Weah, who is 57 years old, believes he’s done a good job and that people will vote for him again. He’s proud of giving free university education since 2018. He also pays for the exams of 9th and 12th graders in public schools.
Moreover, his government has made electricity more available and cheaper. They used to pay 38 cents for a unit of electricity, now it’s about 15 cents. They’ve also started building many new roads around the country.
However, some people who don’t agree with Weah say that there’s been a lot of corruption while he’s been in charge. They also say the economy isn’t doing well, and food prices have gone up. This made people protest in December last year and in June of 2019, which they think shows that the government isn’t doing a good job.
Weah says in his plan that he wants to make it so people don’t have to pay so much for medical care. He wants to do this by making everyone join a health insurance program. He’s also promising to give solar energy to public hospitals and secondary schools that aren’t connected to the main electricity grid.
Weah also pledged to make steady jobs by regulating small-scale mining and giving training on sexual and gender-based violence to public prosecutors.
Joseph Boakai
Boakai, who has worked in Liberia’s government for many years, is well-known and is running for president with the Unity Party. He’s 78 years old and used to be in charge of agriculture from 1983 to 1985. He was also vice president from 2006 to 2018, under President Johnson-Sirleaf.
This year, Boakai has joined forces with the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), led by former warlord turned senator Prince Johnson. As a result, Boakai has chosen MDR senator Jeremiah Koung as his running mate.
Both Johnson and Koung come from Nimba, the second most populated county in Liberia, and they have a lot of influence there. The MDR had previously teamed up with the CDC in 2017, supporting them in the second round of elections that Weah eventually won. However, this partnership ended in 2022 because Johnson felt that there weren’t enough job opportunities for the people he represents.
For many, Boakai’s second attempt at becoming president is a kind of rematch with Weah. They both competed against each other in 2017. Neither of them got enough votes to win outright in the first round, so they went to a second round. Eventually, Weah came out on top.
Using his past knowledge, Boakai has focused on agriculture in his campaign. He promises to grow more rice in Liberia and establish three centers for farming equipment.
He also pledges to upgrade the roads that link the main cities in each county and the roads that connect Liberia to neighboring countries. This will make it easier for goods to be traded across borders.
The former vice president has also promised to work with the legislature to establish a specialised court to fast-track cases of corruption and economic crimes and to support the private sector in developing programs for recycling solid waste into producing renewable energy.
However, critics have said that at 78 years old, Boakai is too old to govern. Boakai has also been accused of facing health challenges, which he has denied.
Alexander Cummings
Alexander Cummings became a notable figure in Liberian politics when he ran for president in 2017 and came in fifth place. Now, he’s running with the Collaborating Political Party (CPP), a partnership between his party, the Alternative National Congress, and the Liberty Party.
Cummings, who is 57 years old, used to lead Coca-Cola’s African branch from 2001 to 2008 and was its global chief administrative officer until he retired in 2016.
During his time at Coca-Cola, Cummings played a major role in setting up the Africa Foundation, which helped in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. In 2011, he received Liberia’s highest honor, the Humane Order of African Redemption, from President Johnson-Sirleaf for his humanitarian efforts.
Cummings is focusing his campaign on making Liberia’s economy more diverse. He’s promised to create a $20 million fund to support businesses run by women, young people, and farmers within his first 100 days in office if he wins. He also plans to temporarily stop all current taxes and regulations to review them and make the business environment more friendly. Additionally, he talks about a policy that encourages buying products made in Liberia to help local businesses.
Lastly, he supports the idea of setting up a court to bring to justice those responsible for the serious crimes committed during Liberia’s civil wars from 1989-1997 and 1999-2003.
SOURCE:ALJAZEERA