Post by Bozur on Oct 17, 2005 9:52:28 GMT -5
Editorial Observer
The Other Election: This Month, All Eyes Turn to Liberia
By HELENE COOPER
Published: October 17, 2005
Eight years ago, when voters in my native country of Liberia last went to the polls to elect the warlord Charles Taylor as president, the slogan was: "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I'll vote for him anyway."
Last week, as voters in Liberia returned to the polls, the slogan for the front-runner had changed. "Did he kill your ma? No! Did he kill your pa? No! Vote for George Weah!"
We've come a long way, baby.
Everybody is paying attention right now to the Iraqi election. But Iraq isn't the only country currently struggling with a lot of very bad memories and a yearning to make democracy work. For me, the Liberian election is where it's at.
In 1997, Charles Taylor's advertising worked: having killed everyone's ma and pa, he had people so terrified they voted for him anyway. He went on to live up to expectations - helping to start wars in neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, running Liberia into the ground and looting the country of what was left of its natural resources. He had his henchmen kidnap children and turn them into gun-toting maniacs. Finally, in 2003, with rebel soldiers crossing the bridge into the capital city of Monrovia, he fled to Nigeria. The country he left behind was basically a wasteland: no electricity, no running water, no functional government.
So now Liberians have voted to put all of that behind them. The news coming out is testament to the power of democracy. Out of Liberia's population of 3 million, some 1.3 million registered to vote. There were 22 candidates for president and hundreds for the 94 seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
It was a remarkably peaceful campaign. Liberians lined up at polling stations in churches, schools and huts, waiting in the hot equatorial sun for a chance to vote. To the apparent shock of all the election monitors sent by the United Nations and the Europeans and even the Americans - Jimmy Carter was there, of course - Liberians voted peacefully. Former President Carter even went so far as to compliment our "free and fair" elections: "It sets a good example for what can be done by other African countries."
The last time anybody looked to Liberia's example was back when the Sierra Leonean rebel fighters started copying our rebel fighters and wearing wedding gowns and blond wigs to battle.
Who was on the ballot? Well, let's see:
Prince Johnson. He's the rebel leader who killed Samuel Doe, then president. Well, Mr. Johnson didn't do the job himself. He just sat in a chair drinking Club Beer (very malty, but delicious when served cold, which happens infrequently since there's no electricity) while his men hacked - literally hacked - Mr. Doe to pieces back in 1990. Mr. Johnson is running for the post of senator for Nimba County.
Jewel Taylor. She's Charles Taylor's wife, our former first lady. "We have to forgive and move on," she told Reuters. Mrs. Taylor is running for the Bong County Senate seat.
General Peanut Butter. His real name is Adolphus Dolo, but all the warlords in Liberia have nicknames. General Peanut Butter is another Charles Taylor loyalist, and is running against Prince Johnson for the Nimba County Senate seat. His slogan: "Let him butter your bread."
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She's the former World Bank economist who is the darling of the international community and the Liberian elite, if there is such a thing. She's running for president, and has compared herself to Nelson Mandela. No, she wasn't in prison for 27 years, but she has promised to follow Mr. Mandela's un-African example and only serve one term if elected.
George Weah. He's the international soccer sensation and former striker with A.C. Milan, the Italian team. He's running for president and is unaffiliated with any warlords, past or present. Since he doesn't have much education and has never held public office or done much of anything besides play soccer, the Liberian elite, if there is such a thing, is not happy with him. But Mr. Weah has the support of a lot of young people - including the child soldiers - who love his rags-to-riches story.
Every day since Tuesday, when the elections were held, my mom has been calling me to find out the latest tally. "Is that soccer fella still ahead?" she asks. "Yup," I say, after checking the Liberian National Elections Commission Web site. She sighs, and hangs up.
I know what she's thinking - that after 14 years of civil war, Liberia desperately needs a president who knows what he or she is doing. I think so too. But there are worse things than soccer player presidents. Like, say, peanut butter senators.
The Other Election: This Month, All Eyes Turn to Liberia
By HELENE COOPER
Published: October 17, 2005
Eight years ago, when voters in my native country of Liberia last went to the polls to elect the warlord Charles Taylor as president, the slogan was: "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I'll vote for him anyway."
Last week, as voters in Liberia returned to the polls, the slogan for the front-runner had changed. "Did he kill your ma? No! Did he kill your pa? No! Vote for George Weah!"
We've come a long way, baby.
Everybody is paying attention right now to the Iraqi election. But Iraq isn't the only country currently struggling with a lot of very bad memories and a yearning to make democracy work. For me, the Liberian election is where it's at.
In 1997, Charles Taylor's advertising worked: having killed everyone's ma and pa, he had people so terrified they voted for him anyway. He went on to live up to expectations - helping to start wars in neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, running Liberia into the ground and looting the country of what was left of its natural resources. He had his henchmen kidnap children and turn them into gun-toting maniacs. Finally, in 2003, with rebel soldiers crossing the bridge into the capital city of Monrovia, he fled to Nigeria. The country he left behind was basically a wasteland: no electricity, no running water, no functional government.
So now Liberians have voted to put all of that behind them. The news coming out is testament to the power of democracy. Out of Liberia's population of 3 million, some 1.3 million registered to vote. There were 22 candidates for president and hundreds for the 94 seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
It was a remarkably peaceful campaign. Liberians lined up at polling stations in churches, schools and huts, waiting in the hot equatorial sun for a chance to vote. To the apparent shock of all the election monitors sent by the United Nations and the Europeans and even the Americans - Jimmy Carter was there, of course - Liberians voted peacefully. Former President Carter even went so far as to compliment our "free and fair" elections: "It sets a good example for what can be done by other African countries."
The last time anybody looked to Liberia's example was back when the Sierra Leonean rebel fighters started copying our rebel fighters and wearing wedding gowns and blond wigs to battle.
Who was on the ballot? Well, let's see:
Prince Johnson. He's the rebel leader who killed Samuel Doe, then president. Well, Mr. Johnson didn't do the job himself. He just sat in a chair drinking Club Beer (very malty, but delicious when served cold, which happens infrequently since there's no electricity) while his men hacked - literally hacked - Mr. Doe to pieces back in 1990. Mr. Johnson is running for the post of senator for Nimba County.
Jewel Taylor. She's Charles Taylor's wife, our former first lady. "We have to forgive and move on," she told Reuters. Mrs. Taylor is running for the Bong County Senate seat.
General Peanut Butter. His real name is Adolphus Dolo, but all the warlords in Liberia have nicknames. General Peanut Butter is another Charles Taylor loyalist, and is running against Prince Johnson for the Nimba County Senate seat. His slogan: "Let him butter your bread."
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She's the former World Bank economist who is the darling of the international community and the Liberian elite, if there is such a thing. She's running for president, and has compared herself to Nelson Mandela. No, she wasn't in prison for 27 years, but she has promised to follow Mr. Mandela's un-African example and only serve one term if elected.
George Weah. He's the international soccer sensation and former striker with A.C. Milan, the Italian team. He's running for president and is unaffiliated with any warlords, past or present. Since he doesn't have much education and has never held public office or done much of anything besides play soccer, the Liberian elite, if there is such a thing, is not happy with him. But Mr. Weah has the support of a lot of young people - including the child soldiers - who love his rags-to-riches story.
Every day since Tuesday, when the elections were held, my mom has been calling me to find out the latest tally. "Is that soccer fella still ahead?" she asks. "Yup," I say, after checking the Liberian National Elections Commission Web site. She sighs, and hangs up.
I know what she's thinking - that after 14 years of civil war, Liberia desperately needs a president who knows what he or she is doing. I think so too. But there are worse things than soccer player presidents. Like, say, peanut butter senators.