In the lead-up to Liberia’s runoff elections scheduled for November 14, the camps of both candidates, incumbent President George Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and former Vice-President John Boakai of the Unity Party (UP), have been engaged in behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at securing the support of other political parties and independent candidates. Sources say these negotiations and endorsements have been marked by substantial demands for cabinet positions and financial incentives.
Some alliances have already been established, but sources have not been able to ascertain what the agreements reached between the parties and the candidates have been.
While these demands are expected as logical bargaining chips to establish a political foothold, there are indications that some other political gladiators are hinging their support more on the prerogative of responsible leadership.
Renowned Liberian lawyer and a former Labour Minister, Tiawan Gongloe, who was also standard bearer of the Liberia Peoples Party (LPP) in the general elections, has thrown his weight behind Boakai’s UP based on his expectation that the party, in its first hundred days in office will take measurable steps to improve the rule of law, through strengthening law enforcement and the independence of the judiciary, he says.
Gongloe has also called for the publication of the asset declarations of all officials of government along with their salaries and benefits and the increase in salaries of civil servants including police officers, nurses, military and paramilitary, teachers, janitors.
Gongloe emphasised that the LPP also wants the UP to commence quarterly lifestyle audits of officials of government in the Executive Branch, take steps towards the investigation of all sanctioned officials in government with the assistance of the US Government, take steps towards the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court and increase the budget percentage to begin with mechanized agriculture.
According to him, the UP, under a Boakai led-government, should also increase percentage for education, and health to be at least 15 percent each of the 2024 budget and to put public works stations in the fifteen counties in order to improve the freedom of movement during the rainy season.
Gongloe has not indicated whether he intends to be a part of Boakai’s government, if the UP wins the run-off elections. However, there are clear indications that an endorsement from such a known and respected political figure would come with some concessions by Boakai to accommodate his political preferences.
Boakai’s campaign received a significant boost with the endorsement of two former ministers and a prominent presidential candidate. This surge in support has ignited renewed momentum in Boakai’s bid to unseat Weah.
Amara Konneh and Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, renowned and influential former Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs, threw their weight behind Boakai’s bid, adding significant credibility to his campaign.
Some sources say what these endorsements also suggest is a growing disenchantment with the incumbent government and the possibility that public confidence in Weah’s ability to pull the nation out of its current social and economic downturn is waning.
According to Konneh, “We have not seen the change and hope that this president promised, and our country continues to go downward…The CDC will lead us into a deeper crisis, and it will be difficult to recover if the CDC is re-elected.”
ALCOP leadership split over endorsements
The endorsement of the former VP by the All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP), which has a large following among the mandingos, has set in motion a rivalry that has split party membership along prejudicial lines, pitching the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate, Matthew V.Z. Darblo, at the general elections, against the presidential candidate, Lusinee Kamara.
According to Kamara, the party, which secured fourth place in the October 10 presidential elections with 35,988 votes (1.96%), chose to throw its support behind Boakai in the November 14 runoff election against Weah. However, Darblo, has declared his support for Weah.
Kamara’s endorsement speech appears to suggest that the party’s primary focus is addressing governance challenges, ensuring human rights, and promoting justice. He also stressed the importance of comprehensive social security services, economic policy reforms, and increased investment opportunities.
The ALCOP Political Leader also claimed that their collaboration with the Unity Party will ensure a concerted collaborative campaign strategy and rigorous poll watching efforts to secure a victory for the Unity Party in the runoff election. He requested that ALCOP’s manifesto be considered in the formulation of Liberia’s governing policies and the establishment of an inclusive government.
On the other hand, Darblo gives the impression that he has the support of the majority of the party in his endorsement of President Weah. According to him, “the decision to support the re-election of President Weah was not done single-handedly but in consultation with other executive members of ALCOP. And with all of the consensus gathered, ALCOP as an institution has endorsed the re-election of President Weah and this was done without any political inducement.”
Darblo further said: “There is no division of support in ALCOP, though some of our executive members have endorsed the Unity Party while we, the majority have decided to support the re-election of President Weah because we have tested his leadership and believe that he will do better,” Darblo added.
This position is in clear contradiction with the position of Kamara and creates a challenge for the party’s membership who are caught in the middle of what is playing out as a major conflict among the party leadership.
Sources believe that the positions of both men are more the result of a strategy to gain a foothold by aligning forces that would serve their personal political interests. What is obvious is that the split between both men would undoubtedly create a major rift in the party.
However, what many Liberians seem to agree on is that these alliances would provide an opportunity for the parties to contribute to policy formulation of any government that emerges after the run-off elections.
Cummings claims to be on the fence
In contrast to these open endorsements, the decision taken by the candidate of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings, not to endorse any of the two candidates openly has been criticised by many political watchers in the country as a strategy that may deal a serious blow to his political career.
Some pundits believe that, Like his last stance in the 2017 run-off polls, Cummings’ decision not to endorse any of the two candidates openly, even as he is believed to quietly prefer the re-election of George Weah, is predicated on his belief that another six years of Weah’s style of leadership, and the fact that Boakai would have retired from politics, would place him as the frontrunner in the 2029 elections.
As one commentator writes, “This shows nothing but a lack of leadership… Cummings, by banking on Weah’s victory, which would automatically give him an advantage in the 2029 presidential election, is devoid of logic and lacks the kind of serious reflection that should be associated with long-term political strategy.
“The first problem with this assumption is that ANC apparatchiks toyed on the same argument in 2017, when their political leader and party opted to stay on the political sidelines, against all the logic of history, Cummings would emerge as the frontrunner in the 2023 elections. However, Cummings’ share of the national vote precipitously declined, accumulating less than two percent of the votes on October 10, 2023.”
Integrity of some political actors
There are a number of Liberians who are sceptical about the integrity of many political actors who have jumped on the endorsement wagon. Leymah Gbowee, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 alongside then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her instrumental role in ending Liberia’s protracted civil war, has expressed her concern regarding the character, integrity, and truthfulness of many Liberian politicians in their dealings and interactions.
Gbowee’s remarks refer directly to the ongoing political endorsements and support, which many say appear to be tainted by demands for the distribution of cabinet positions and financial incentives, as negotiations continue between the governing Coalition for Democratic Change and the opposition Unity Party.
Fahnbulleh against Weah re-election
A key political figure who has taken a more radical position on the subject of endorsement, and has come out to pledge his support for Boakai, is the former National Security Advisor (NSA) under the administration of ex-Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Dr. Henry Boima Fahnbulleh. He has also expressly stated that he would not accept any political office if called upon to serve.
Dr. Fahnbulleh was a presidential candidate in the 2017 elections on the ticket of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP) and a renowned Liberian scientist and one of the founders of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA). He also served as Minister of Education and of Foreign Affairs in the Samuel Doe military government from 1980 to 1983,
He has been openly critical of the Weah government and has made known this position on several platforms. Apart from the fact that Fahnbulleh worked in the same government as the former VP, he has always insisted that his political views conflict with those of the Weah administration.
Dr. Fahnbulleh, speaking on a radio programme from exile via telephone, claimed that the re-election of President Weah would be a “catastrophe” for the post-conflict nation and its citizens, and that he and others outside Liberia will not hesitate to illegitimise the government of President Weah if the outcome of the elections does not reflect the will of the Liberian people.
On his endorsement of Boakai, he said the former VP is the only one best suited to reconcile, stabilise and bring some level of respect to Liberia and its citizens. According to him, Liberians do not want celebrities to govern them but a “wise old man who can dedicate responsibilities and read into people’s actions.”
He has, however, also expressed the desire to see some important steps taken by Boakiai, if he wins on the 14th. He said he hopes that various committees would be setup under a Boakai led-government to investigate past happenings, including corruption, mysterious killings and disappearances, among others.
