Gbarnga, Bong County – Bong County senatorial candidates on Sunday, July 15, 2018 debated at the Gbarnga Administration Building at the first of two debates to be held before the July 31 by-election.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
The next debate will be held on Thursday in Salala District.
Five candidates are contesting to replace Vice President Jewel Taylor, who served the position for 13 years.
The participating candidates were: District Three lawmaker Marvin Cole of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), former Internal Affairs minister, Dr. Henrique Tokpa (Independent candidate), Fairnoh Gbilah of the Vision of Liberia Transformation (VOLT) and Prince Kollie of the United People’s Party (UPP).
Agitations and disagreements were some of the highlights of the debate as four of the five candidates vying to become the next senator put across their plans to the public.
The completion of the Bong County Technical College, poor maintenance of the county’s asset and the division of Bong County dominated discussions.
The debate, under the theme “Creating a Level Playing Field for Sustaining Democracy in Liberia,” was organized by the Liberia Media for Democratic Initiatives.
The issue about the division of Bong County dominated the debate. Only Gbilah agreed for the division of the county when elected Senator.
The Chairman of the National Election Elections Commission (NEC), Jerome Kokoya, who is also a native of Bong County, graced the occasion.
He lauded LMDI for the program and said it would provide a perfect opportunity to electorates to know the candidates well.
Below is FrontPageAfrica analysis of how the candidates performed.
Candidates are rated on a scale of 1 to 10 on how articulate their plans were.
The scores only represent FrontPageAfrica review of how the candidates performed at the debate and not how they would perform as senators.
Prince Kollie: Still has a tough job convincing voters he’d be the man.
Strong on infrastructure but soft on everything else that mattered on the day.
However, Kollie grew as the debate progressed. He also sounded like a man who won’t deliver too much without some form of borrowing loans to implement his projects.
His political party is also derided in Bong County and that could cost him dearly at the ballot.
There was that moment when he was taken up on his activities about how he intends to borrow loans to build laboratory for students of the county.
Kollie did the most natural thing–he pulled on the gloves and engaged the anchor.
He can also be a tough customer and that was good to see on Sunday.
Rating: 5/10
Fairnoh Gbilah: Feisty, brilliant and eloquent, Gbilah did his election chances no harm on the night.
He was the best performer by a long, long mile.
Gbilah scoffed at his experience and readiness for the job, but he fought back gamely.
Did enough to show he can be a steady pair of hands if elected.
His policy prescriptions were often on point as well and he talked a big game, especially his stance on the division of Bong. If the people of Lower Bong
However, like they say, talk can be very cheap.
Rating: 8/10
Marvin Cole: He flaunted his experience and power of incumbency like a bad coin throughout.
He was rattled on questions bordering on why a he is a sitting lawmaker and wants to contest when the CDC he is a member of is complaining of inheriting a broke economy and his alleged promise to build a hospital for motorcyclists, who petitioned 2017 to contest in District Three.
Suffice to say Cole didn’t emerge from this debate smelling of roses.
He was on the defensive for most of the duration of this show and threw in some sense of humor for effect—which often brought the debate to life.
Not a bad showing overall, but probably left a few voters wary.
However, his saving grace will hinge on the strength of the CDC in Bong County and the growing influence of the Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, who endorsed his candidacy over the weekend in Gbarnga.
Rating: 6/10
Henrique Tokpa: Gave as good as he got with some solid points to go with his energy levels.
There were times when his policy prescriptions appeared quixotic and dreamy, but the former Cuttington University boss emerged from this debate with some pride.
However, the endorsements of seven current lawmakers of the county who have gone unpopular with their constituents did rattle him and his answer on that front left much to be desired.
Tokpa had a good debate and took on Representative Cole without flinching. However, he still has a lot to prove ahead of voting day.
Rating: 6/10