Incumbent Ellen Johson Sirleaf
Liberia
President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is nearing the climax of her political tenure
in office and despite the time-frame of less than one and a half years to the
elections, the race to replace her has gotten to a fierce start in the homeland
and the diaspora.
Johnson-Sirleaf was elected President in the bitterly contested
polls of 2005 pitched against soccer legend George Weah, whose popularity at
home especially among the youth remains unmatched. Sirleaf’s election came into
question as a many in the opposition especially the Weah Camp, were of the view
that the polls were manipulated in her favor.
Corruption is endemic
Efforts
to fix the economy have faced serious setbacks due to the deadly Ebola crisis
coupled with
accountability issues plaguing certain branches of government, mainly the
legislative branch. Lawmakers allegedly received bribes to make key
decisions and
presidential lobbyists
have alluded to paying money to
get lawmakers to pass specific economic policies.
Sirleaf has always struggled at tackling corruption in Liberia
and stemming it out as promised in her 2006 inaugural address. Under the
Sirleaf administration there has been wide abuse of community rights by foreign
companies with the acquiescence of government officials. Global Witness (GW),
held the government’s feet to the fire when it found indisputable evidence to
show massive discrepancies in how concession companies acquired Private User
Permits (PUP), in Liberia.
Ebola made matters worse
When the deadly Ebola virus struck Liberia, the Sirleaf-led
administration was already struggling to put food on the people’s table and
ratings on the Home-front for the President was at an all-time low. The deadly
Ebola crisis led to a total breakdown of the country’s already troubled and
crumbling health system.
Of the 11,300 people who died from Ebola, Liberia accounted for
4,808 deaths making it the highest number of fatalities from the outbreak,
which left 28,600 persons infected, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea
according to the World Health Organization’s latest data.
Facing up to the realities of a failing economy exacerbated by
the challenges brought on by the Ebola crisis, Sirleaf in a surprised moved
called the nation to action in an impromptu speech delivered on November 19,
2015, something many likened to an early State of the Nation Address, which
does not happen until January 2016.
Johnson-Sirleaf
informed Liberians that the country is now faced with the prospects of a
weakened economy due to the worsening decline of two important commodities
namely iron ore and rubber. From 2005 to 2015 the story of Liberia under Ellen
has been one of a jig-saw puzzle, a riddle still unsolved. But what many agree
on is that despite her failings, she has been able to keep the country from
slipping into anarchy and many remains unsure of Liberia’s political future
after Ellen. The race to finding a successor begins now as the 2017 election
draws near. Here is a line-up of the men and woman who have already shown
interest in running for President of Liberia come 2017.
1. Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party
Charles W. Brumskine is
the political leader and standard bearer of the Liberty Party. Brumskine hails
from Grand Bassa County, where support for him in the 2005 and 2011 election
have been huge. Brumskine came third in the 2005 presidential election. The Southern Metodist University trained lawyer came fourth in the 2011
elections, but has consistently won Grand Bassa County. He is the senior
partner of Brumskine & Associates law firm in Liberia. The Liberty
Party’s Political leader came into the spotlight during his tenure as President
Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate when he publicly challenged the policies of
his former ally Charles Taylor, then President of Liberia in the 1990s.
Brumskine fled the
country in 1999 when he felt threatened as his criticism of Taylor only put him
at odds with the President. Associates of Brumskine say he fled by way of the
beaches through Hotel Africa to neighboring Sierra Leone at night. He would
later express interest in running for President against Taylor in the 2003
elections which never happened, as Taylor was deposed by rebel forces and led
into exile in Nigeria.
There have been talks of
a merger of Brumskine’s LP and the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) of
Soccer legend George Weah. Although this forseen merger was seen as the best
ticket that could have possibly unseated Sirleaf in the 2011 elections, the
ticket was dead before negotiations were even started. Supporters of the two
parties continue to throw jibes at each other, with some publicly accusing Weah
of taking money from the LP candidate but later dumping him for Cllr. Winston
Tubman in 2011. There are still talks of a merger but the suspicion existing
between the two sides will not allow such union to be cemented. Supporters of
Brumskine think he has a shot at the Liberian Presidency come 2017, given that
he is among the most experienced candidates running for the nation’s highest
seat. But his support base remains rooted in Grand Bassa County and among
the few educated elites, something that many say could hurt his chances at
clinching the highest seat.
2. Vice President Joseph Boakai
Joseph Nyumah Boakai is
Vice President of Liberia. He hails from the vote-rich county of Lofa in
northern Liberia. The vice President is normally not seen in the Liberian
political context because the President most of the time is the person in the
spotlight and making all the big decisions.
The announcement by Vice President Joseph Boakai that he would
run for President came as a surprise to many given what critics of the
administration call the dismal performance of the Sirleaf-led government since
2005. But Joe as he is called, argues that there has been many successes and
continuity is required to push what was started in 2005. With the ruling Unity
Party (UP) now almost disintegrated and the apparent non-endorsement from
Sirleaf to give him the go-ahead to carry the party’s mantle, it is believed
that Boakai could carry a split end of the Unity Party into the 2017 race. But
the VP believes he can unify the party and deliver the much needed reform for
Liberia’s future.
Boakai
believes that no country can claim it can defeat corruption,
though much can be done to fight it. As he stated in an interview with the
Voice of America with James Butty in November, the administration has been
doing all it can to address it.
“Nowhere in the world where corruption has been completely
eliminated, but we know that other than physically arresting people and putting
them in jail, we are putting in place systems that will control. And I want to
believe that most of the people who talk about corruption, they can’t actually
find who is corrupt,” said Boakai.
Though there has been criticism of the 71 year-old VP’s capacity
to stay fully awake during events, which many blame on his age, he declares to
the VOA that age is not a handicap but rather a blessing.
Boakai’s
Lofa base is his political stronghold as the county has given the Unity Party
victory in two successive elections. In the recent election in 2011, the
Sirleaf Boakai ticket cupped 71.0% of the Lofa vote. The party also pulled
along small counties like Bomi, Cape Mount and Sinoe. It ranked close to
Brumskine’s Liberty Party in Bassa and Bong with a few points margins. But can
the party hold on to these successes with Boakai at the helm?
3. Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, Ex-Wife of former President Charles Taylor
Unlike Brumskine, Weah and Boakai, former first
lady, Jewel Howard Taylor current senator of Bong County has not tested the
political waters when it comes to Liberian presidential elections. In 2011 she
struggled to win back her seat as an incumbent senator of her county against
Henrique Tokpa, President of Cuttington University. But supporters of Taylor
argue that the number of years she has spent in the senate qualifies as
political experience to vie for the nation’s highest office. Taylor has been a
strong advocate against legalizing same sex relationships in Liberia. She has
also pushed for Liberia to be declared a Christian state. Critics have
described Taylor’s move to support calls to make Liberia a Christian state as insensitive
and bias, given her role as a senator. But supporters of
Taylor think she’s best suited to replace Sirleaf. Taylor, despite declaring
her intention to run for president in 2017 leaves all options open to be a
running mate to one of the other potential candidates. Some are already
pointing to Taylor running second to Benoni Urey, since both originate from the
‘Taylor Era’. There has also been indication of talks with LP’s Brumskine but
not much has been reported around these discussions.
4. Benoni Urey: The King Pin of Liberian Businesses
The leader of the newly launched All Liberia Party, Benoni Urey is
a longtime ally of Liberia’s ex-President Charles Taylor who was convicted in
2012 by the International Criminal Court on charges including war crimes and
crimes against humanity. Urey served as Commissioner of Maritime under Taylor.
A 2005 report by the Coalition for International Justice claimed Urey helped
Taylor “siphon off” money through a shipping registry to buy arms to support
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone. The report further
states that Urey was a “primary liaison for the illegal purchase of weapons” in
Liberia from infamous international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Urey was recently
removed from U.S Travel Ban and visited his daughter in Canada in early
December 2015.
Urey’s partly owned PLC Investments Limited
owns 40% in Lone Star Cell, while MTN South Africa owns 60% business partner in
Liberia.
Urey also owns an
agricultural farm and resort in Careysburg City, Wulki Farms and Farmers
Paradise Resort, developed on land owned by his father, Daniel Webster Urey IV.
With these business franchises, Urey is considered Liberia’s richest man, whose
net worth is estimated at US$12 according to media reports. Before he was removed from the United Nations
Travel Ban Urey formed alliances with the Congress for Democratic Change and
supported.
5. George Weah
The
political leader of the CDC and currently senator of Montserrado County
continues to be a force to reckon with as it relates to politics in Liberia.
Stepping into the race as a political novice in 2005 and challenging the
Harvard-trained Economist Sirleaf, Weah now boasts of consistently coming
second in two successive elections in 2005 and 2011. The CDC political leader
have gone from being barely a high school drop out to working his way to
earning both a bachelors and master’s degree from
the Keller Graduate School of Management, DeVry University in Miami, Florida.
He
tested the waters again in 2014 when he ran for Senator of Montserrado County
sweeping more than 78% of the votes against
Robert Sirleaf, son of President Sirleaf. Weah’s CDC continues to be popular
among mainly young people and his support in the suburbs of Monrovia continues
to be consistent among the disadvantaged in society. But his critics say he has
not been able to translate support from the grassroot to real victory at the
Presidential polls. But Weah’s supporters have always argued that he has been
cheated twice in elections. Weah’s senate win is being widely viewed as
preparation for a second presidential run in 2017 according toForbes Magazine.
Regarded as one of the
greatest African players of all time, Weah won both the Fifa and the Ballon
d’Or or European ‘Player of the Year’ awards in 1995, and was awarded the
African Player of the Year award in 1989, 1994 and 1995. Many critics say weah
must now begin to work towards forming alliances that could boost his chances
in the elections come 2017.
6. Alex Cummings of Coca Cola, dubbed Political Newcomer
Alexander B. Cummings Jr. is the newest kid on the block as it
relates to politics in Liberia and though he has not made any announcements to
run for President in 2017, he has already begun the ground works of gauging the
reaction of the electorate at home and abroad to the thought of him running for
the nation’s highest office.
Cummings is currently Executive Vice President and Chief
Administrative Officer (CAO) of The Coca-Cola Company.
A native of Liberia, Mr. Cummings joined The Coca-Cola Company
in 1997 as Region Manager, Nigeria. In 2000, he was named President of the
Company’s North & West Africa Division according to Coca Cola. In March
2001, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of the Africa Group,
responsible for the Company’s operations in Africa, including a total of 56
countries and territories across the continent.
Mr. Cummings held several positions with The Pillsbury Company
in the U.S. prior to joining coca cola and in his last role as Vice President
of Finance for Pillsbury International, he had financial responsibility for a
growing $1.2 billion international branded food business with operating
companies in 16 countries.
Despite
this vast knowledge and expertise in international business solutions the name
Cummings is new to many Liberians and since Mr. Cummings has not publicly come
out to announce his intention to seek the office of President, many are of the
view that he is just not ready yet. But his supporters who are now laying the
groundwork for his campaign say Cummings is set to be a formidable force in the
Liberian election. Cummings has been holding consultations with members of the
Liberian diaspora in the United States and his supporters say he cares about
uplifting the young people and reconciling Liberia. For him education, energy,
road infrastructure and national security are all priorities on his agenda if
he runs for President according to his supporters. Critics say Cummings has
been away too long from Liberia to understand what is going on but his
supporters believe that he has a big heart and is willing to work to transform
Liberia if given a chance.
7. Mills Jones, Central Bank Governor
Dr. J. Mills Jones is
current head of the Central Bank of Liberia, his policy to help market women in the rural areas by giving them
loans directly eliminating all bottlenecks set by protocols by the Central
Bank, has brought him praise. But critics of Jones say he is exploiting his
office at the CBL, to enable him secure the support of the people for 2017.
There have been public mouth lashing of the CBL Governor by some members of the
legislature and the former President Pro tempore of the Senate Ghehzohngar
Findley was a major critic of the scheme. But Jones has paid no attention to
such criticisms and proudly walks on lappas in every village he visits on his
political philanthropy. As the race for the Presidency heats up toward 2017,
Liberia is now set to see some unholy alliances as the latest being media
reports of a coalition between Urey and Jones. The two hail from the very
affluent group of the Liberian society among the 1% of those who are perceived
to be rich by Liberian standard; at least they’re the ones who’ve been publicly
dishing out monies to the poor. Some term Jones’ philanthropic gestures as
‘stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor.
All these men and one woman have in one way or the other through
themselves or their supporters echoed their intentions to run for
President in 2017.
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