Totota, Bong County – October 10, 2017 presidential and legislative elections in Liberia will most likely not be business as usual for country’s political elite and the electorate.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Although there are 20 presidential candidates for Tuesday’s polls, four of them namely, Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party (UP), Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) standard bearer, Senator George Weah, the standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Cummings, Charles Walker Brumskine of Liberty Party (LP) and the standard bearer of the All Liberian Party (ALP), Benoni Urey are the front runners in Bong County.
Bong County has 201,508 registered voters.
Already, the passion exhibited by the four presidential candidates and the robust campaigns of the four parties in the county showed that Liberia has moved towards democratic sustainability.
But which party will win Bong County? FrontPageAfrica accesses the four parties in the 13 administrative Districts of the county.
Kokoyah District: In 2011, the Liberty polled 1,069 out of the 2012 votes cast during the 2011 presidential election.
From the statistics, Kokoyah District gave Liberty Party the highest vote in the county.
The party’s closest rival, Unity Party, pulled 513 votes.
The situation on the ground in Kokoyah shows that Liberty Party still has the edge and will likely top the District on October 10.
Suakoko District: This is where the vice standard bearer of the ANC, Jeremiah Sulunteh, hails from.
This is one District that has never fallen into the hands of the ruling Unity Party since 2005.
Suakoko has remained the stronghold of the opposition politics at all levels in the county.
During his five years tenure as Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Sulunteh helped empowered residents of Suakoko through the provision of tuition aid, loans to market women etc.
Sulunteh’s noticeable feat in education was the establishment of the Madam Suakoko scholarship scheme, which benefited citizens of the District and perhaps that is the strength of Sulunteh and the ANC in the District ahead of October 10, 2017.
Hence, in Suakoko District, it is ANC.
Kpaai District: This is fertile area for the Unity Party. Since 2005, the District has largely been controlled by the UP and with the influence of the District’s lawmaker, Tokpah Mulbah, there is a possibility that the CDC, LP, ALP and ANC may not get enough votes here.
Jorquelleh District Two: Here, Rep. Prince Moye, the District’s lawmaker really wants to swing victory for the Unity Party.
The party is expected to win the District as the party remains the dominant one there.
The Unity Party’s strong base in the District coupled with the District’s lawmaker’s influence in the District has further boosted the party’s chances at the polls.
District two parades an army of accomplished Bongese (citizens of Bong County) through the instrumentality of Rep. Moye and they have been working assiduously to deliver the District to the party.
Jorquelleh District Three: It is the District of political gladiators and all of them will want to prove a point.
The District boosts of the deputy campaign manger of the Unity Party Curtis Tormue Queminee, former Transport minister Tornolah Varpilah, also a member of Unity Party, influential youth like Alvin Zarwolo, the leader of the mandingo community in Bong County, Ansu Sesay and the lawmaker of the District George Sylvester Mulbah.
The All Liberian Party (ALP) has as its strength prominent Gbarnga business man Paul Sarlie while the Alternative National Congress vice standard bearer has overwhelming influence in the District, which could boost the chances of the ANC.
The CDC has its influential District three candidate Marvin Cole, who could woo the motorcyclists over to the party.
Here, the CDC boosts of influential youth in Kunan Vesselley. Mr. Vesselley’s defection to the CDC, according to political pundits is a major boost for the party in its attempt to win the District.
Salala District: This is one District in Bong County that it’s tough to predict which of the four leading parties in Bong will win on October 10.
But things seem to be working in favor of Unity Party because eight of the 14 representative candidates are supporting Unity Party.
With the selection of UP’s vice standard bearer Emmanuel Nuquay, the “Kpelle factor” seems to be working for Nuquay here.
Many citizens in Salala feel that they may not fail to seize the opportunity to elect “someone of their own”.
Zota District: In Zota, the Unity Party and the ALP wax strong.
The fact that the party’s standard bearer and vice standard bearer have been endorsed by chiefs and elders of the District has made the UP even stronger in the District.
In this District, it is the Unity Party, even though Representative Lester Paye of the Alternative National Congress will want to show his popularity and might for Cummings and the ANC.
Most of the youths here have declared their ambition for Urey, which could be a driving force for the party.
Panta District: It is tough call between the CDC, All Liberian Party (ALP), Unity Party and the ANC and the three parties will likely share the votes here. Any of the party who wins in the District will not do so with a wide margin.
Political pundits have, however, given it to the Unity Party though it will not be a wide margin like in 2011 when the party won overwhelmingly.
This is because the Unity Party has gained lot of ground in this District thanks to the last minute to time efforts of its deputy campaign manager, Tormue Queminee.
Fuamah District: In Fuamah, though the majority people in the District may want to loathe the Unity Party candidate, Joseph Boakai, they are not for his CDC counterpart, George Weah either.
The reasons may not be farfetched. Fuamah has been a traditional District and the people voted the Unity Party overwhelmingly in 2011 elections.
But the reality is not so today as the party could well be struggling to win the District.
The lawmaker of the District, Rep. Corpu Barclay of the Unity Party, has the task of delivering the District to Boakai and Nuquay.
Hence, it is not clear whether the UP can pull off any magic in this District on October 10, 2017 as the race here is between the CDC, UP and ALP.
Sanoyea District: This is the home of the vice standard bearer of the CDC, Bong County senator Jewel Howard-Taylor.
Two weeks to October 10, the CDC campaign rally hit Sanoyea with unarguably 4,000 people trooping at the venue in Sanoyea town.
But with less than three days to the October 10, 2017 polls, Nuquay, with the help of former Transport Minister Sampson Tornolah Varpilah, Queminee and former Deputy Information Minister Andrew Tehmeh have succeeded in bringing most of the influential citizens of the town under the fold of the Boakai-Nuquay ticket.
They have been asked not to leave their party but to vote Boakai and Nuquay on October 10, 2017.
Whether such call will have a dent on Senator Taylor’s influence on October 10, 2017 remains to be seen.