Monrovia – Could third time be the charm for Liberia’s main opposition party, the Coalition for Democratic Change?
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
The party’s standard bearer Senator George Manneh Weah has been on a whirlwind tour of late, reaching out to leaders in the African sub-region as it zeros in on strategy and galvanizing resources in a bid to win state power and wrestle authority from Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s ruling Unity Party at the polls.
Weah, who boarded a private jet out of Monrovia for Mali Friday, has in recent weeks paid courtesy calls on the Presidents of Senegal, Ghana and Gabon in a bid to cement ties and garner support for his presidential bid.
The recent maneuvers by the football legend-turned Senator is a major departure from the party’s last two quests for state power in 2005 and 2011.
Former the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the party formed by Weah in 2005, placed first in the presidential poll, winning 28.3% of the vote but lost to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and the Unity Party in the November 2005 runoff, winning 40.6% of the vote compared to Johnson-Sirleaf’s 59.4%.
The party won 3 seats in the Senate and 15 in the House of Representatives that year.
Six years later, in 2011, the party again fell prey to the ruling UP despite Weah surrenders his standard bearer tag to veteran politician, Ambassador Winston Tubman.
The incumbent Sirleaf won led the presidential field with 43.9% of the vote, followed by Tubman and the CDC with 32.7% in the first round.
As no candidate received an absolute majority, Sirleaf and Tubman stood in a run-off election held on 8 November 2011.
Tubman alleged that the first round had been rigged in Sirleaf’s favor and called on his supporters to boycott the run-off.
The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa reported a turnout of 61% as compared to the 74.9% turnout in the first round.
The National Elections Commission declared Sirleaf the winner of the run-off on November 15, 2011 with 90.7% of the vote.
A Major Departure from Past Lapses
Senator’s Weah’s sudden departure from the frailties which dogged his party’s last two attempts at attain state power is garnering praise with some crediting the Senator for a more mature approach to his candidacy this time around.
This has been evident in Mr. Weah’s attempt to galvanize support on the continent in his quest for the presidency
At the presidential palace in Liberville with President Ali Bongo Ondimba recently, the Montserrado County Senator, accompanied by his Vice Standard Bearer and Senator Jewel Howard Taylor (Bong County), Senator Weah outlined the challenges his county is facing with emphasis on democratic tenets and peace within the African continent.
Senator Weah, in that meeting won praise from President Ondimba for his continuous efforts towards peace and his courage to continue to fight for his people despite the immense challenges he is faced with.
Ondimba also commended Senator Weah for being a true symbol of African Pride and expressed hope that he will continue to use his platform as a statesman and his global image as a peace icon to continue to promote peace and reconciliation within Africa and the world at large.
In Dakar, recently, Senator Weah, in meeting with President of Senegal, discussed issues surrounding the conducting of a free, fair and transparent election in Liberia come October, regional peace and security, and other cardinal issues of bilateral interest.
President Sall expressed that it was a great honor to have received what he described as “One of Africa’s greatest pride” in Senator Weah, as a guest to the presidential palace of the Republic of Senegal.
In meeting with Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo back in February, during which he confirmed that he will be making his second bid for the presidency, Senator Weah, who played for teams, including Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea, was the highest-ranking African footballer in FIFA list of greatest players of the 20th century selected by Brazil’s legend Pele, also trumpeted his desire for change in Africa’s oldest republic.
The Senator has also made separate trips to Morocco and Israel in recent weeks, leading many to take notice.
Maturity Showing, Slowly
So, what is Weah doing this time around that he failed to capitalized on in 2005 and his party’s 2011 quest?
Political observers say, the football legend is exercising a strong degree of political maturity and a sense of finally understanding the political terrain although many of his critics say the process is still a working in progress, taking into account the candidate’s major challenge, which has been his inability to surrounding himself with serious and experience players to take him over the top.
In spite of his flaws, Senator Weah appears to be making amends in other areas with his new sense of political maturity.
In his Independence Day message this week, Senator Weah hope that the spirit of true independence will steer Liberia in a new direction and give its people a renewed sense of patriotism as the nation approaches the most critical transition point in its rich history as a nation.
“Let us use this occasion to reflect on the challenges we have overcome and the tribulations we have endured as a people. More importantly, let us be optimistic about leveraging the gains we have made since our inception as a sovereign nation to further improve our standing in comity of nations.”
Senator Weah said the nation is stronger today than it has been because of the common bond and unity share as a people.
“But foremost, because we refuse to be defeated by our limitations and roadblocks.
Our unique sense of diversity and robust cultural heritage is what sets us apart from other nations. Therefore we must cherish and celebrate these unique traits while continuously galvanizing ourselves as One Nation, One People, One Destiny and resisting every selfish attempt to tear us apart.”
Senator Weah, who in the aftermath of the 2005 run-off elections claimed that the elections were rigged and whose party took a violent route in the aftermath of the 2011 runoff which resulted in at least one death, appears to be a strong advocate this time around against violence.
He told FrontPageAfrica following the recent attacks on the ruling UP candidate, Vice President Joseph Boakai in Clara Town, charged that resorting to violence does not bode well for Liberia’s post-war peace and stability.
The Senator urged supporters of his own party as well as other political parties to do away with violence.
“I am seeing that a lot around here and it is not a good thing at all.”
“In particular, I am concerned about the recent attacks on Vice President Boakai in Clara Town when rival supporters went up against him. I do not encourage and I do not support or think we should be engaging in such a way.”
“If you do not want to support a particular candidate then stay away but do not engage in violence.”
Footballers Following Weah into Politics
Senator is not the first former football to turn his fortune to politics but he is the first to set his sights on the presidency.
Carlos Valdermma, the colorful former Colombian goalkeeper is a candidate in the national elections hoping to become a Senator with the Unity Party.
Arsenal legend Sol Campbell was a candidate in the London Mayoral elections last year and France’s World Cup hero, Lilian Thuram was recently appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy as Minister of Diversity but he declined.
In 2007, Russian hitman Roman Pavlyuchenko gave it a try before joining Tottenham, when he ran for a seat in his hometown of Stavropol for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party
Grzegorz Lato, the 1974 World Cup Golden Boot winner, played more than 100 times for Poland, bagging 45 goals for the national team.
He also entered the political cauldron in 2001 as senator for the Democratic Left Alliance Party before taking on the role as president for the Polish FA.
Viktor Orban, the current Prime Minister of Hungary previously played amateur football for his local team Felcsut FC in Hungary.
Love or hate his determination to become only the first former footballer to win a presidential election in Africa, many agree that Senator Weah’s enormous popularity and grassroot support cannot be overlooked.
Despite his political lapses, he remains ahead in most polls of the rest of the field of some 20 plus candidates in the upcoming elections, raising the possibility that in a lifetime that has seen Donald Trump’s unconventional approach lead him to the American presidency, that anything is possible and Weah and the CDC remains a formidable force in this year’s race.