Liberians not yet done with Democratic Duty: Preliminary Results Yield Run-off
Polling station attendant checks the final voter roll to ensure voter is registered before issuing him is ballots (Photo: Lindsay Forslund)
By Lindsay Forslund
According to the preliminary results that were recently released by NEC (National Election Commission), the preliminary results yield a run-off. 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.
The 2005 election 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) following closely behind. However, in 2005 in the second round Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the UP had been able to make significant gains during the two weeks of campaigning and she topped 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. She has been leading in this first round of elections by a margin of approximately 35 thousand votes which is about 44 percent. If anything has been learned from the 2005 process, it is that going into the second round of campaigning, it is really any candidates’ game. The second round is scheduled to start on October 26th
The most important point for all political parties and candidates to remember before 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 fair campaigning. The ECC (Election Coordinating Committee), which is chaired by SFCG, 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 the ECC 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, the political parties must take real caution to heed the advice of the ECC and refrain from engaging in any activities that as the ECC says may “undermine the entire electoral process and the gains made thus far in strengthening democracy and maintaining peace and stability in Liberia.”
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Lindsay Forslund is an international intern working with SFCG in Liberia. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Gender and Peace Building at the United Nations Mandated University for Peace in San José, Costa Rica. She has written more on Liberia’s elections here and here.
