11 November 2009
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf bulldozed her way to power using her background as political activist, advocate of social-economic justice, and trailblazer with proven local and international credentials.
But most of all, it was her promise to be a one-term President that attracted her campaign for president to intellectuals and Liberians who thought her one-term promise would be a legacy of disinterested and stake-claiming governance in postwar Liberia.
But if the comments made by her son are anything to follow, according to observers, that legacy may be unlikely.
The Analyst, reports.
Mr. James E. Sirleaf, son of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, last Tuesday, cracked the puzzle regarding the President's political future when he disclosed that she no choice but to run for re-election in order to sustain the growth of peace and development in Liberia.
Observers say until Tuesday's hints on the President's possible re-run, the whole question was wrapped in a conundrum, which some say was troubling, because it made it difficult to determine the turf and shape of elections 2011. They did not say what knowledge of the President's running would bring to that determination, but Mr. Sirleaf thinks he knows.
In his view it brings a successful incumbent, who was not restricted by law to seek re-election, fact-to-face at the poll with candidates that will have tough times establishing their presidential credentials.
No Legal Restriction for Re-Run
Mr. Sirleaf, a banker of local and international repute, said there was no law in Liberia that restricts the President from running for second term. He described the 2011 presidential and legislative elections as the most important test of Liberia's new political dispensation and that therefore it would be a disservice to the President's supporters and the challenges facing Liberia for her to abandon the process.
"It is imperative that we continue to live with peace, economic development and improve upon our rule of law," he said, noting that these were factors of national challenge that could not be abandoned at the time they were beginning to take roots. He was however quick to noted that President Sirleaf has not yet decided whether she will run again or not.
"Legally, she can run for another term. I would encourage her to run again because it would be in the interest of all of us that Liberia continues down this positive development path," Mr. Sirleaf said. Looking at the country many years ago and comparing it now, he said, there was need for Liberians to be grateful for the level of transformation the country has undergone. He believes this was so because the Sirleaf Administration has pooled international support in the form of economic partnership that paid off liberally.
"The growth agenda must be followed. Since 2006, the country has benefited immensely from western political goodwill. The main development partners made up of many western nations led by the United States of America, Great Britain, Germany and France have provided funding for many projects in infrastructure and education development," he said.
He continued: "The World Bank and IMF have provided emergency assistance primarily in the form of grants that have made it possible for the Government to conduct major road repairs in the city of Monrovia and its close environs. The government has been actively campaigning for global debt relief from both institutional and bilateral lenders."
He said the battle was far from being over by 2007 but that bilateral lenders such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, and China have since made concessions to cancel Liberia's debt. The World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank (ADB), he said, followed the generosity of the five Security Council members, as early as 2008.
"What this means in a nutshell, is that Liberia would now be able to qualify for drawings under a fully fledged World Bank and/or IMF program. Over the past three years, there has been a virtual turnaround in public finance and national development. Things are not rosy and perfect yet....mainly because of the many years of destruction of life, of culture, infrastructure, and so forth. It is going to take some time to focus on the most vital elements that will make the difference for benefitting the majority of the people."
Regarding sustained growth in the education, health, and agriculture sectors, according to him, the Sirleaf Administration has had to start from scratch.
"It is going to take some time and it will cost much more money. The economic conditions in the country have been subject to world economic pressures. One reason for this is because Liberia is 100% import dependent," the banker said. There was need, he said, for the country to move forward in electing people of competence and with good integrity.
"In order to have a sustained peace in this country, we must pursue a path of democracy and the rule of law. We've an obligation to improve our legal system so that everyone has the right protection under the law. We must only place the right people in eminent positions and other senior positions of trust," he said.
He said it was therefore incumbent upon the voters of Liberia, as a starter, to elect what he called the best candidates to the National Legislature. He acknowledged the fact that electioneering politics was new to Liberia but noted notwithstanding that the failure of the electorates to put experienced persons into public offices would gravely affect the way the nation was governed. He said the Unity Party-led government has done well for the past years.
"The Unity party-led government has done pretty well; nevertheless in lieu of all of these difficulties and uncertainties, we are optimistic that the quality of life for all of the people of Liberia will continue to improve."
Campaign Promise & Presidential Legacy
Observers say while Mr. Sirleaf may have made striking points in support of his call for the President's re-run, he was calculatedly or inadvertently brushing aside serious factors that border on the President's political integrity and the legacy she may create by adhering to her campaign promise to be a one-term president. The President's academic and accomplishments in local and international financial management aside, they said, it was her promise to the Liberian people to be nothing but a trailblazer and pathfinding president that endeared many to her camp.
"If she dare renege on that promise to step down after one term, even though the law is on her side, she stands to lose her support base and open her achievements to political challenges," says one observer. He when Madam Sirleaf, as candidate, told the people of Liberia that at her age she would find the challenges of government too burdensome at the end of six years, they saw the fulfillment of the promise as a precedence that future presidents after her could follow.
"Liberia is not accustomed to having former life presidents. Most Liberian presidents since Edwin Barclay were compelled by either the forces of nature or brute force to leave office. President Sirleaf promised to break that vicious cycle and many believed and hailed her. Now that promise is about to be betrayed," he said. But no all believe that the inevitable in the conundrum for the President's re-run is about to take place since the President herself has not said she would run.
"We see that some counties and individuals in society have been nudging the President to run, but I think they are doing her a disservice. The people who are doing this are looking only at the benefits that may accrue to them when the administration continues in office.
But they are not looking back at history, at how Liberia came to be what it was some five years ago in terms of governance and economic development," said political observer Thomas Z. Bayou of suburban Brewerville, west of Monrovia.
Bayou said unless the President considered seriously the whispering from family members and political opportunists urging her to run for president and make a decision on her conscience and honor, she was likely to fall into the trap many before her had fallen into.
"The trap usually has several convincing components: fear of pejorative life outside the presidency, the fate of opportunists who had put their 'life on the line for the chief, the fear of 'inexperienced' successors squandering or taking credit for good works left in progress, and the fear of misguided trial. This trap caught and guided Tubman's political actions and decisions for 27 years, Tolbert's for 9 years, Doe's for 10 years, and Taylor's for 6 years," he said.
He said even though President Sirleaf has worked overtime to rebuild Liberia's shattered economy, bring the nation's problems and challenges to international front burner, and demystified the Liberian presidency by meeting and holding discussions with ordinary Liberians and tolerating outright criticisms of her administration by politicians and the media, that does not follow that she cannot preclude herself from the 2011 elections.
"There is much to be gained by being deferential to the promise she made to the Liberia people than by flouting it in the name of continuity for sustained growth and development. One key factor in politics is trust; when it is betrayed, there is nothing left to hold on to," agreed Thompson W. Weah, Jr. of the University of Liberia Teacher's College. Weah said the President has done well and therefore does not need to hold on to power in order to complete any project or protect the growth and development of Liberia from being stalled or reversed by so-called inexperienced politicians or enemies of growth and development.
"There are no such people. The only enemies to Liberia's growth and development are individuals who opposed smooth political transition through the polls, people who advocate life presidency and whip up all sorts of fears to sustain it, people who we call the despots makers," he said.
Analysts say while it may be too early or it be unjustifiably jumping the gun to open debate on the President's possible re-run on the mere pro-run opinion of a family member, the pros and cons of President Sirleaf's re-run bid promise to be fundamental to the future of Liberia's pluralistic democracy vis-à-vis the historic cult of the presidency. "That, though, can be made unnecessary by the President," they say.
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RUN ELLEN RUN-BUT WILL UNMIL REMAINED IN LIBERIA FOR THE END OF YOUR 2ND TERM.
A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICENT.....
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
The Analyst is either ignorant of the democratic political process and campaign thereof or has not understood what western politics is all about. The rule of law is what should govern if a cnadidate is qualify to run for an office in a land. The PEOPLE gets to decide who they want. This is not based on promises or anything that is hidden. The smart people of Liberia should decide if Mrs. Sirleaf deserves another term. It should not be up to the pundits. We need to stay away from ignorance as is being displayed by Zota.
I think this analysis in light of "Sirleaf Conundrum Cracks" is disingenious in all fairness to the democratic process which encompassed the right of the Liberian people to decide who they want as president. Political stomp speeches should not be used to measure the desire of Liberians in terms of the quest to elect a person for the next term. In my opinion, the political field is relatively level for everyone having ambition to run as president. Your only obligation will be to make your case as to why you want to be president. It shouldn't matter if the President wants to rerun. What we need to support is a free and fair election void of discrepancy.