The Editor,
Everyone knows that old man Boakai is the man to beat in October.
Oh, you don’t believe me? Look at that crowd he drew on Saturday.
It was the Mother of all campaign rallies!! (Re “Liberia’s Ruling Party Shuts Down City…”)
Ok, ok, I have to be intellectually honest: Having the biggest crowd doesn’t mean a first round victory for Boakai. But it does mean that Boakai is a serious contender and the man to beat.
But to beat Boakai, the opposition parties must consolidate behind ONE candidate before October 10, 2017….
Whoever they chose comes with political risks, so let’s do some risk assessment here, shall we?
Under Scenario A: If they (opposition coalition) choose Weah, the elections would be over in the first round, because Weah has a lock on Liberia’s low information voters, which is a 20-30 percent of all registered voters!
Adding Brumskine, Cumming and Urey’s voters would put him (Weah) over the 50 percent threshold in the first round! Hey, a deadbeat dad (Weah) could be Liberia’s next President!
Scary shit, isn’t it?
But under Scenario B: if they choose someone other than Weah, I guarantee you Weah will take his ball and go home!
In other words, Weah will withdraw from the opposition coalition and run by himself. But I expect him to come in third in the first round, behind Boakai and the opposition coalition candidate.
So with or without Weah, the opposition stands a far better chance under both scenarios (A or B) of being one of the top 2 candidates in the first round of the Presidential election.
The opposition’s best chance to beat Boakai is to get behind one candidate before Election Day. But who’s going to give up their political chance this year for the good of our country?
No one?
Hey, if the opposition refuses to consolidate behind one candidate and it comes down to Boakai and Weah in the second round, Boakai is going to whip Weah’s arse—-fair and square!
Martin Scott.
Atlanta, Georgia