AT THE MOMENT, political parties and legislative aspirants are busy putting in place strategies to win the forthcoming polls. In less than six months, Liberians of voting age will go to the polls to elect a new president, 73 new members of the House of Representatives, and 15 new senators.
ALTHOUGH THE Liberian electorate should have reached a level of sophistication where we can say that Liberia has reached nirvana as regards electoral protocols and culture, the truth is, Liberia is yet to get there. This means the entire electoral processes put in place to assess different political parties and their aspirants, as well as parties' and aspirants' manifestos, always befuddle the Liberian masses.
THESE CLOGS in the nation's electoral laws have always taken the shine off the various efforts, financial commitments, and diligence that might have gone into the preparations towards the various elections.
THE LAST FEW weeks have been interesting in Liberia as many political gladiators are maneuvering through overt and covert expressions on how to get the interest of the populace. It is believed that, in the coming weeks, more individuals across party lines are going to come out to show where their interest truly lies.
THE CURRENT ELECTORAL system that seeks to hide contestants from public scrutiny will worsen the situation. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, the 2023 general elections might not produce results different from what we had in 2017. After more than 15 decades of organizing general elections, if the reactions that trail the exit polls are not applause across the board, Liberia would have lost a lot.
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THE LOSS WILL come from the huge monetary and material donations towards the polls, which do not produce the kinds of leaders that will improve the socio-economic well-being of the citizenry. Political office holders become evasive after the general elections as to what people should hold them accountable for, denying promises made while canvassing for votes.
LIBERIA NEEDS uncommon and exceptional individuals at various levels of government to lead this country to the promised land. The past electoral contests have not led us anywhere, and the socio-economic indices continue to worsen by the day. Such indices range from insecurity, poverty, unemployment, exchange rate, and food insecurity.
THEREFORE, the National Elections Commission (NEC) must remove the shackles of the current electoral system that seeks to hide contestants from public scrutiny. The Liberian people should be able to scrutinize the academic qualifications, achievements, lifestyles, and economic programs of their future representatives, senators, presidents, and other political office holders on a timely basis. AS WE TRUDGE towards 2023, we should take all these issues to heart and act seriously on them. This is with a view to ensuring that ultimately, we put in place an electoral process that will guarantee the much-needed dividends of democracy in our
