07 October 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

“Violence against Women in Elections Worrying” – UN Women, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The Gender Ministry and UN Women have expressed deep concerns over reports of violence against women in these elections and have urged all to take actions to ensure that everyone, especially women and girls are free to exercise their political right.

 

Social media has been the main conduit of these attacks in addition to at least one verifiable incident of physical attack against a female candidate, recent findings by three civil society partners–Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia, New Narratives, and the Liberia Women National Political Forum have revealed.

 

According to the reports, a male candidate in Montserrado County Electoral District #13, contrary to the Revised Code of Conduct for Political Parties 2011, watched as his supporters ransacked the offices of a female candidate in the district. In Grand Gedeh County Electoral District #2, there is also the case of a female candidate whose supporters are being threatened along tribal lines.

 

EU Election Observation Mission to Liberia Deploys Additional Short-Term Observers, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The EU Election Observation Mission to Liberia has deployed 34 short-term observers (STOs) together with additional 12 observers from diplomatic representations of EU member states in Liberia. The observers will join 20 long-term observers (LTOs) who have been in Liberia since the middle of September, bringing the total number of EU observers to Liberia to 81.

 

“Our teams have been observing the electoral process for over a month now. LTOs have engaged all 19 magisterial election offices in and have held meetings in 56 out of 73 Electoral Districts to date. Election day always receives special attention”, says chief observer Maria Arena.

 

Ex-Division 1 Footballers Endorse Cummings, Sources: All Africa and Daily OBSERVER

 

The media reports that another group of former players of the national football teams, Junior and Senior Lone Star, including 1st and 2nd division teams have endorsed the presidential bid of Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC).

 

Ex-Lone Star winger Kai Jerbo and Mighty Barrolle former right forward Opata Lawrence said: “Cummings is the best candidate to lead the country.” The duo made the endorsement at the headquarters of the ANC in the Monrovia suburb of Sinkor. They represented 27 former players from the national teams and top-flight clubs.

 

“When we read the platform of Cummings, what attracted us, is Liberia first – it means we must choose Liberia over our relations, colleagues, buddies and whosoever. We have decided to campaign and vote for Cummings; he is the only person who can deliver this country,” Jerbo said.

 

President Sirleaf Urges Liberians Not to Lose Track of Safety Measures, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has urged Liberians not to lose track of all safety measures in the conduct of their lives. President Sirleaf wants Liberians to observer the right safety measures at all times and celebrate the construction of the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, National Reference and Regional Reference Laboratory building.

 

According to an Executive Mansion release, the president who made the statement Thursday during an official program making the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the building in Congo Town further called on the public to guide themselves against ugly practices that could lead to another health crisis.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Liberia’s political parties to hold same-day rallies amid violence concerns, Source: Foreign Brief

 

Today, the Alternative National Congress and the ruling United Party will stage rallies in Monrovia, stoking fears of violence ahead of the October 10 general elections. The ANC accused the UP of denying it’s right to free association, while the latter is calling their event a pre-victory rally.

 

With incumbent Ellen Sirleaf constitutionally limited to two terms, this will be Liberia’s first post-war power transition between democratically elected governments. Following the Ebola crisis, the next government must tackle widespread poverty, stabilize the economy, and eliminate corruption.

 

Facing over 1,000 parliamentary candidates representing 26 parties, 49% of voters remain undecided. Of 20 presidential candidates, Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ANC, footballer-turned-senator George Weah and former acting president Charles Brumskine are the main contenders.

 

While the run-up has been relatively peaceful, 61% of Liberians believe election disputes could reignite conflict. Considering previous presidents ascended via counterinsurgencies, coups and a president’s death, there is no room for complacency.

 

Liberia's Weah denies contact with ex-leader Charles Taylor, Source: News24

 

Liberian presidential candidate George Weah on Friday denied contact with ex-leader Charles Taylor as controversy erupted over the former warlord's alleged behind-the-scenes role in the country's politics.

 

After stepping off a helicopter on his return to the capital, Monrovia, from a nationwide tour ahead of elections on October 10, Weah categorically denied speaking with Taylor, who is serving a 50-year prison term in Britain for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 

"I am not in contact with Charles Taylor, I repeat, I am not," Weah told AFP and France 24 journalists. The BBC quoted him this week as saying he had taken a phone call from Taylor recorded in January.

 

Head of ECOWAS observation mission charges Liberians on successful poll, Sources: All Africa and ECOWAS

 

The Head, ECOWAS 71-member Election Observation Mission to Liberia Mr. John Dramani Mahama has charged Liberians to ensure successful presidential and parliamentary elections slated for the 10th of October 2017.

 

Mahama, who is the immediate-past President of Ghana, said ahead of the elections that the responsibility for the success of the exercise rests with all the country’s political actors as well as the general citizenry.

 

“The success of the electoral process depends on you the citizens of Liberia. We will do our part but international observers are not magicians, we can support the process” he said on arrival in Monrovia on 5th October 2017.

 

Reminding the country’s politicians and candidates that there can only be one winner, the observation Mission Head said “It is not only about winning, but how you react to losing matters,” warning that “not a single drop of blood of any Liberian is worth the political ambition of any candidate.”

 

U.S. Embassy's Statement for the 2017 Liberian Elections, Sources: All Africa and US Embassy in Liberia

 

On October 10, Liberians will vote for a new President and for Members of the House of Representatives. The ballot begins a historic process toward the first peaceful transfer of power in Liberia from one democratically elected head of state to another since 1944. The United States applauds Liberia's successes in holding electoral contests in 2005, 2011, and 2014, and trusts that Liberians will continue to build on that tradition by participating responsibly at campaign events, at polling places, and while awaiting results. As a longstanding friend and partner, the United States encourages all Liberians to vote and participate in the democratic process—before, on, and after Election Day—to shape Liberia's future.

 

The United States government has provided technical and financial assistance to support numerous institutions and programs to strengthen key pillars of these elections which are an important milestone in Liberia's democratic development. Election observers from Liberia, ECOWAS, the AU, the EU, the United States, other nations, international bodies, and non-governmental organizations such as the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center will be present. Together, they will monitor voting in each county and contribute information that will factor into assessments of whether the elections meet international standards.

 

Before and after the October 10 elections, we appeal to all Liberians to remain peaceful and respect the democratic process. While this is a time to engage in vigorous debate, exchanges should be civil, and take place in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. Along with an independent media, free speech is a mainstay of any democracy. People must be able to discuss issues freely, express their opinions, and challenge those of others. Anyone who would infringe on those freedoms should be held to account. Similarly, anyone who asserts those rights through threats, vandalism, or at the risk of public safety should also be held to account.

 

United States Concerned over Charles Taylor’s Involvement in Liberia’s Presidential Election, Sources: GNN Liberia and Globe Afrique Média

 

In an article on BBC NEWS titled: Is Ex-warlord Charles Taylor pulling Liberia’s election strings from prison? Reporter Charlotte Attwood explores the unlikely coalition between former footballer George Weah, a candidate in Liberia’s presidential election, and former warlord Charles Taylor’s ex-wife Jewel Howard Taylor, who is running as the vice-presidential candidate.

 

Sources within the Trump administration stated, it’s troubling how quickly Liberians have forgotten their terrifying civil war including the rape of women and young girls along with the events that led to, at least, 250,000 Liberians dying in a senseless civil war – now, they are allowing convicted warlord Charles Taylor and his aides to influence the upcoming presidential elections. It appears history is about to repeat itself in Liberia with the name Taylor being the underlying manipulator.

 

The coalition between Mr. Weah’s party Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Party (NPP) – headed by Taylor’s ex-wife came about in 2016 after Weah held several conversations with Charles Taylor – who is serving 50 years in prison for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone.

 

Liberia Holds a Free Election. Make That ‘Free-for-All.’, Source: The New York Times

 

Democracy has finally taken root in this tiny country. Hundreds of young people danced on Wednesday to the beat of West African highlife music blaring from generator-powered speakers outside the headquarters of supporters of the imprisoned warlord Charles G. Taylor.

 

The ubiquitous scent of coal fires and marijuana wafted through the air. Posters of George Weah, the former professional soccer player and standard-bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change, wearing distinguished eyeglasses and salt-and-pepper chin stubble, looked over the crowd.

 

Less than a mile down the road, the Unity Party was hosting its own jam, with food and free-flowing drinks. Candidates routinely pass out cash at these affairs, and the latest video making its way through Liberian social media shows a presidential candidate, Oscar Cooper, in white undershirt and jeans, standing in a doorway handing out money as people file out.

 

Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, and for the first time since anybody can remember, a sitting, democratically elected Liberian president is about to hand over the reins to a democratically elected successor.

 

Liberia elections: who will succeed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf?, Source: Deutsche Welle News

 

Liberia is heading to the polls on October 10 with twenty candidates on the ballot paper. The list includes a fashion model, a football icon, a warlord and a host of businessmen and career politicians.

 

Liberia has been through tumultuous times in recent years: from two brutal back-to-back civil wars to an outbreak of the devastating Ebola virus disease. Both incidents left the country in ruins and its population severely depleted. The upcoming general election is set to be another major test for the troubled nation, as it seeks to manage its own security for the first time since the United Nations peacekeeping mission pulled out completely two years ago.    

 

The long list of candidates vying for the country's top job are not your average politicians; including a former warlord infamous for torturing and killing a sitting president, a world class football star, a former fashion model - who shares a child with said football star - as well as a host of career politicians and businessmen.

 

An internal rift between President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joseph Nyuma Boakai - her two-term vice president, who is seeking to replace her - came to light when she did not attend his campaign rally. Sirleaf claims she did not attend the event due to preparations for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in late September.

 

Liberia’s visually-impaired set to vote for first time, Source; Anadolu Agency

 

Visually-impaired Liberians will for the first time get a chance to vote in the upcoming general election on Tuesday, but a lack of training on how to use special ballot devices may still leave many out.

 

Emmanuel Koyo, a 30-year-old visually-impaired man who survives by begging on Broad Street in capital Monrovia, told Anadolu Agency that he was looking forward to the opportunity to participate in the vote that will see the end of the two-term rule of Africa’s first female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

 

Koyo said he will go to vote with all his visually-impaired friends but voiced concern about whether he would be able to use the tactile ballot system.

 

The tactile voting device enables a visually impaired person to mark a ballot paper in secret without getting help from anyone.

 

Disclaimer
 

This media summary consists of selected local media articles for the information of UN personnel. The public distribution of this media summary is a courtesy service extended by UNMIL on the understanding that the choice of articles included is exclusive, and the contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership. The inclusion of articles in this summary does not imply endorsement by UNMIL.

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