Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Monrovia (Fides Service) - Liberia is the first African country to elect a women head of state. The new President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won 59.1 % of the votes in a second round of presidential elections, (see Fides 8 November 2005). Her remaining opponent was former football champion George Weah, who obtained 40.9% of the votes.
“This important result confirms the maturity of the Liberian electorate” said a Catholic missionary in the capital Monrovia. “In fact the people chose the lesser evil. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, compromised with certain forces which unleashed the civil war that lasted 14 years is at the same time an expert politician well known in the international community particularly in financial ambits like the International Monetary Fund. Although Weah has good intentions he was approached by “warlords” anxious to exploit his popularity for their own interests. Liberians have chosen a person with the experience and the ability to help the country take its place in the international community”.
“Our hope is that now at last the new institutions will work for the good of the people” the missionary said. “The problems to solve are enormous: Liberia must be entirely rebuilt. It suffices to think that Monrovia is perhaps the only capital in the world where a 24 hour electricity service is not guaranteed. Many of its districts have been without electricity for decades”.
Weah’s first reaction was to object to the validity of the vote but when international observers certified the correctness of the election, the former footballer announced that he accepted the result.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has said she intends to involve the defeated candidate in the new government: “I myself will ask him to join us. We need people like him who are seriously committed to the reconstruction of our country lacerated by 14 years of civil war. He is young and can stand for presidency again many times. For now what he needs is a little political experience”.
Liberia’s presidential and parliamentary elections stipulated in the peace agreement signed by the factions in August 2003, closed a sad page in the nation’s history marked by a civil war which lasted 14 years and left about 250,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of refugees. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/11/2005 righe 33 parole 395)
