Ganta Nimba County — The word 'godfather' has different meanings to different people. In Liberian politics, a godfather is a 'big boss' that maintains political control of a territory by ensuring that either he or his self-chosen person is elected to govern such area.
They include the rich and political influencers who contribute to campaign funds of some candidates with the aim of winning elections.
Since 2005, Nimba County Senator, Prince Johnson, has built loyalists around himself and used their influence to manipulate the rest of the country politically.
His political structure has produced has more than nine persons as either representative or senator in the county. Vice President Koung's rise in politics since 2011 owes much to Senator Johnson's support.
Regarded as a "political son", Senator Johnson paved the way for Koung's re-election as representative in 2017, and similarly, campaigned for Vice President Koung in 2020 to become senator at the expense of his former political ally, Thomas Grupee.
The likes of former Nimba Senator Grupee, Three-term lawmaker of District Five Samuel Kogar, former District Three representative Samuel Worleah (deceased), former District Four representative now head of Governance Commission, Atty. Garrison Yealue, former District Four representative Gonpue Kargon, among others.
Prior to Tuesday's senatorial by-election, many had thought the power of Senator Johnson's "godfatherism" would shape the voting pattern at the polls, but grassroots campaigns by Unity Party candidate Nya Twayen -- who finished second to Senator Johnson in 2023 senatorial election with over 55, 000 votes -- and the willpower of the electorate turned out to be a deciding factor.
Twayen seems to be coasting home to massive victory, with over 90 per cent of the votes already in.
As announced Thursday by the National Elections Commission (NEC), results from 706 polling places of the total of 736 polling places in the county indicate that Twayen is leading with 66,516 votes, followed by the People's Unification Party candidate, Samuel Kogar with 37,557 votes.
Senator Johnson, who is serving his third term (27 years), vowed to ensure Twayen is not elected senator following his fallout with the ruling party over the party's persistent push for a War and Economic Crimes Court.
Senator Johnson, a Gio native, opted to support Rep. Kogar, one of two Gio candidates in the race, in an election that reignited the long-standing tribal rivalry between the Mano and the Gio, the two populous tribes in the county.
The plethora of upsets recorded particularly in the Gio regions where Senator Johnson has influenced previous elections results through his support for candidates, appeared to have shown a new inclination.
Tongues have continued to wag over how Senator Johnson and his candidate Kogar performed poorly, allowing Twayen to put up a strong fight to win over 20, 000 votes in the Gio region, the first Mano candidate to achieve such feat.
A source told FrontPageAfrica that while Senator Johnson relied on his past influence to ensure Kogar wins the Gio region, Twayen, who has run his charitable foundation for the past 17 months through which he had empowered over 4,000 persons in the Gio regions in tailoring, hairdressing, and catering among others, put his hope on his good works and power of the voters.
Senator Johnson "succumbs"
Ahead of the official result by the National Elections Commission Friday, Senator Johnson took to social media on Thursday to congratulate Twayen on his soon-to-be announced victory and thanked Nimbians (natives of the county) for putting their avowed solidarity and support for Twayen into action by coming out en-masse to give their votes to him, irrespective of ethnicity and even political affiliations.
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Senator Johnson said from the preliminary results, it was clear that Twayen's message of hope, unity, bringing the dividends of democracy to the county was positively received by residents of the county who are eager to embrace a new era.
"Welcome aboard, my son. The task ahead is significant. Nimba has elected you to join me as the operational Senator. Given your respectful and organized nature, I believe that together, we can enhance Nimba's progress. I urge everyone to refrain from spreading tribal messages as they have the propensity to derail our progress as a county by diverting our focus. Let's prioritize peace, love, and unity in Nimba and throughout Liberia. I pledge my full support in working with our new Senator. Together, success is assured. Congratulations Senator & thank you, Nimba," Senator Johnson said in his post.
