Monrovia — In October's elections, there will be 800 representative aspirants that will slug it out in the 15 counties, while 100 senatorial aspirants will contest for 15 seats. Of the 73 current representatives of the 53rd National Legislature, only two are not seeking re-elections - Unity Party's Ben Fofana of Margibi County's second district and Bong County's District Five lawmaker Edward Karfiah, who is contesting for the Senate race having served for two-terms.
Ahead of October, it is fight to finish as incumbent lawmakers have employed every skill in politicking, including persuasion, wooing of the electorates with incentives and deploying all sorts of propaganda to demarket their major opponents.
In this first of a three-part series, FrontPageAfrica delves into the chances of incumbents, newbies making headlines in various districts across the country, starting with Bong, Lofa and Nimba Counties.
F. SAKILA NYUMALIN, UP, LOFA COUNTY, DISTRICT ONE: District One will be one of the districts to watch out for in the representative elections in Lofa County. The incumbent Nyumalin, a closed ally to Unity Party's standard bearer Joseph Boakai, is being heavily challenged by three-time Monsterrado District Five representative Thomas Fallah, who transitioned to contest in Lofa County. Fallah has made his presence felt in the district, playing a major part in the party's win in last year's by-election in county. With Boakai hailing from the same district, the race promises to be intriguing, but it's fair to say that all the odds favor Fallah ahead of October.
BEYAN HOWARD, IDP, LOFA COUNTY, DISTRICT FIVE: It's going to be a tough call here. There are two administrative districts making up electoral District Five: Salayea and Zorzor Districts. Disappointingly for the incumbent Howard, his native Zorzor District has a total of nine aspirants, compared to Salayea's three. Howard's two main challengers are Garmai Jackollie , an Independent aspirant and Augustine Chiewolo of Unity Party, who finished second to Howard in 2017. Zorzor may have the numerical advantage in terms of population over Salayea, but the multiplicity of aspirants emerging from the district would put the odds in either Chiewolo or Jackollie's favor.
MARIAMU B. FOFANA, NDP, LOFA COUNTY, DISTRICT FOUR: District Four will be an interesting prospect in the representative elections in Lofa. During the previous two elections in which she won, Rep. Fofana has had the better of her kinsman and major rival, Sekou Kolleh. But it seems the dynamics has changed heading to the October elections as Kolleh has shown more determination to get the nod from his kinsmen.
always dominated Though an APC state, the PDP won all the senatorial seats in the state and the presidential election.
MOIMA BRIGGS-MENSAH, INDEPENDENT, BONG DISTRICT SIX:
Briggs-Mensah is set to face a contentious re-election battle in 2023 for her seat, which political analysts have rated as a "toss-up."
Briggs-Mensah could face three challengers, including former Assistant Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy, William Thompson, Liberian Diplomat Kollie Gargbo and Diaspora Liberian Richard Natee. The Chairman of the Bong Legislative Caucus is being credited for commissioning a lot of projects in the districts, key among those include the landmark renovation of the Salala Administrative Hall, construction of a town hall in Kolila and also provision of loan to women.
One key advantage playing in Briggs-Mensah's favor is the support of Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor against the CDC's aspirant and her main rival, Thompson. With Howard-Taylor at the helm of the ruling party's campaign in Bong, it's expected that Briggs-Mensah could get enough funds for her campaign.
However, Briggs-Mensah's decision to break ranks with her long-time political ally, Senator Prince Moye, could make things difficult for her as the opposition Unity Party has put up a proxy candidate in Natee.
In Thompson, meanwhile, Briggs-Mensah has a main challenger, who was raised in Toyota, a vote-rich city in District Six with over 8, 000 votes. He was instrumental in bringing an electricity project to the area which continues to benefit locals. Already, Thompson is being touted as a "lawmaker-in-waiting" by young people of the district.
JOSEPH PAPA KOLLEH, ALP, BONG, DISTRICT SEVEN: Kolleh has long been gearing up for his re-election bid. He has embarked on a number of projects in both Sanoyea and Fuamah Districts, including the launch of a vocational school, dedication of a bridge and construction of youth centers in the two districts which he furnished with DS TV. In 2017, Kolleh, who hails from Sanoyea, defeated his major rival, Andrew Tehmeh with less than one hundred votes, replacing the district's former lawmaker Corpu Barclay, who served for for 12 years (two terms).
Though Tehmeh is recontesting again, but Kolleh's major challenger could be Foday Fahnbulleh, who finished third in 2017, less than five hundred votes behind Kolleh. Fahnbulleh hails from Fuamah, the largest of the two administrative districts. Key for Fahnbulleh is the decision by Mr. Benedict Binda and Melvin K. Boima to endorse his candidacy. Both Binda and Boima are from Fuamah District and contested the 2017 election, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Political pundits believed with the numerical advantage Fuamah District has over Sanoyea District, coupled with the declaration of support for a "consensus" candidate from Fuamah District in Fahnbulleh, Kolleh's re-election hinges on how many votes he would garner over his rival Tehmeh in Sanoyea District should he have any hope of re-election in 2023.
MARVIN COLE, DISTRICT THREE, CDC, BONG COUNTY: The CDC lawmaker's major achievement over the year in District Three is the vocational skills training program he launched to empower women. More than one thousand women has been empower through the provision of loan through the Nenikpoma Loan Scheme. Cole is credited for also commissioning a radio station in Bong County, though he said the radio station belongs to residents of the district, many believed he opened the radio station to attack his main rivals during the election.
Cole is facing the biggest challenge of his political career. It's an election dubbed as "Cole vs Them". The "them" are those who have been victimized by Cole's witch-hunt over the years. These "aggrieved" people have grouped behind Orando Zarwolo, a man who lost to Cole by less than a thousand vote. Most of the stakeholders in the county, including Senator Prince Moye, a prominent Muslim businessman man who politically aligns with Moye are all plotting Cole's downfall ahead of October.
The race in Bong's District Three is a 50-50 battle.
Robert Womba, BONG, DISTRICT FOUR: Womba's approval ratings in the district are dismal, opinion polls have shown. Of the five lawmakers facing an uphill re-election battle in 2023, it seems it's only a matter of time for Womba to be called a "former lawmaker". The Unity Party lawmaker, whose campaign mantra in 2017 was to bring the needed change to the district, seems to have failed to live up to the hype that may him lawmaker. Additionally, the lawmaker's woes have been compounded by the multiplicity of aspirants emerging from his native Zota District, including the Medical Director of Phebe Hospital, Dr. Jefferson Sibley, three-time contestant Susannah Mator, Diaspora Liberian Rufus Kermee, one-time contestant James Paye. With such number, according to political pundits, could put the odds in favor of the most popular candidate to emerge from Panta, another administrative district making up electoral District Four.
With his age, agility and overwhelming influence he has had in recent years, analysts are convinced that the former Bong County Health Services Administrator Jonah Tokpah is poised to replace Womba.
ALBERT HILLS, CPP, BONG, DISTRICT ONE: Hills of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) could face an uphill battle for his seat in 2023. Forget about the emergence of Prince Kwenah who has declared his ambition to contest, the race could be a proxy political fight between the CPP lawmaker and Bong County Senator Prince Moye. Hills ran an aggressive campaign against Sen. Moye in the senatorial election in 2020 in favor of former senator Yallah and it seems Moye is prepared to "reward him for that". Moye has made constant visitations in Hills' district, breaking grounds for people-centered projects, particularly in places where the district's lawmaker has failed to deliver since his election in 2017. If Moye supports Kwenah in 2023, which seems to be likely, then it could spell doom for Hills, analysts say, because the district's former lawmaker, Tokpah Mulbah who won two-term (12 years) has relinquished his ambition to support Wamah Kuteh, who has shown impressive showings in the last two elections he has contested, finishing second and third respectively.
Kuteh has always garnered votes from Palala, a vote-rich city in the district. With the support of Tokpah Mulbah, political analysts are convinced that Kuteh could win Palala and Dutai, where Tokpah Mulbah hails from. Also in the Kokoyah side of the district, there is Dennis Garsinii, a Diaspora Liberian who hails from Botota, another vote-rich area in District One. Garsinii has been engaged with residents of the district, and was crucial in providing drugs to the District Health Team during the Ebola and Corona Virus outbreaks. Garsinii has been blessed to have with him key stakeholders in both Kokoyah and Kpai Districts who have endorsed his candidacy.
SAMUEL N. BROWN, IND, NIMBA DISTRICT ONE: The businessman turned politician will be up against a very familiar face in Francis Maweah, whom he defeated in the by-election in 2021. Maweah, of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), will be hoping to make amends after failing to win in three previous elections. In Brown, Maweah has a strong opponent, in earnest. Brown, in a relatively short period of time, has made headlines for all the good reasons: providing over US$6,000 worth of materials to the City Council of Gompa, including two tricycles. He's being praised for the opening major streets in the district, an intervention he began prior to his election, which would be a contributing factor if he were to win re-election in October.
PRINCE O.S TOKPA, CDC, NIMBA COUNTY, DISTRICT TWO: The lawmaker faces a herculean task in his bid for a third term. Tokpah, whose second term victory came on the back of the opposition People's Unification Party, is being accused of diverting projects meant for the community to his wife Yah Tokpah's Sanniquellie Mahn Construction company, an allegation he has refuted. Charles Wonkeryor, a Unity Party and Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) aspirant and Nyahn Flomo of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) are believed to be his major contenders for a list of 11 aspirants.
JOSEPH N. SOMWARBI, CDC, NIMBA COUNTY, DISTRICT THREE: Somwarbi in 2017 defied all the odds when he won as the only candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Change in Nimba, thanks to his strong advocacy against Arcelor Mittal's unwillingness to provide jobs for locals of the Yarmain Clan, home to the company, but would later cave in to the company, much to the disappointment of locals. His re-election hurdles have also been compounded by the decision of traditional leaders of Gehlay-Geh District to put up a 'consensus' candidate against him in Nehker Gaye of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR). Also, with residents of vote-rich Zor Clan pushing for a power shift their "representation" Anthony Quiwonkpah Jr, it just highlights how difficulty the incumbent's re-election would be.
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SAMUEL KOGAR, PUP, NIMBA COUNTY DISTRICT 5: The race in Nimba's fifth district is straightly a proxy political fight between the incumbent and Unity Party's vice standard bearer Jeremiah Koung. In Kortor S. Kwagrue, Koung feels he is the right person to prevent Kogar's third term. Kwagrue and Koung have the years forced a good relationship have served as engineer for all of Koung's projects in the county. The battle between Kogar and Kwagrue can be summed up to 50-50.
GLEEKIA, DORWOHN, MDR, NIMBA COUNTY, DISTRICT SIX: One thing playing in the incumbent's advantage is the support he enjoys from the two senators of the county - Sen. Koung and Sen. Prince Johnson. But despite that he still faces challenges from former Nimba County superintendent and former Deputy Public Works Minister, Jackson Paye. Paye is a native of Kpablee Clan, the only Krahn District in Nimba. Locals of the district have cried foul of marginalization and are said to be pushing for a "consensus" candidate in Paye. How that works out on October 10 remains to be seen.
ROGER DOMAH, UP, NIMBA COUNTY DISTRICT SEVEN: It's going to be a tough call here simply because of two persons: Sen. Prince Johnson Musa Hassan Bility. Bility, National Chairman of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), has been credited for the opening of farm-to-market roads in Bahn and Saclepia cities. He made headlines for himself when he made available vehicles to both the City Mayors of Bahn and Saclepia. He has also managed to use money to lure influential people of the district to support his candidacy. Bility, a Muslim, is now confronting with the tribal politics being preached against his person by the so-called "political godfather" of Nimba politics, Sen. Prince Johnson.
Sen. Johnson has openly vowed to support Domah, the only Unity Party candidate to have won in Nimba County in 2017.
LARRY P. YOUNQUOI, CPP, NIMBA COUNTY DISTRICT EIGHT: The CPP candidate is seeking his third term having won in 2011, 2017. Younquoi, a native of Gbannah Clan, is facing serious challenge from V. Doolakeh Taryor, a native of Lao Clan, an area pushing for representation amid claims of marginalization. Other serious contenders in the district are veteran and retired journalist of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
JOHNSON N. GWAIKOLO, CDC, NIMBA COUNTY DISTRICT NINE: The incumbent's decision to join ranks with the ruling Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) is said to have put him at loggerheads with some residents of the district, particularly the Gongloe's, an influential family in the district. His chances of re-election are very slim.
