By William Selmah wselmah@gmail.com
Campaign activities for Tuesday’s polls in Liberia officially ended Sunday night, with candidates exhausting every last second down to the wire.
Over the last few days, presidential candidates have been crisscrossing the country in last rush to win over voters, while representative candidates could be seen busy canvassing for votes in their respective constituencies.
According to the National Elections Commission (NEC), 2,183629 Liberians registered to participate in Tuesday’s polls, with 20 candidates competing for the presidency and more than 700 for 73 seats in the House of Representatives.
NEC Chairman says all is now set for polling to commence voting at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, October 10, with ballot papers already conveyed to voting precincts.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is stepping down after serving two terms. She pleaded with fellow Liberians to turn out and participate in the process and contribute to the holding of peaceful elections.
Her Vice President and two time running mate Joseph Boakai is vying to replace her as president, while the current Speaker of the country’s House of Representatives Emmanul Nuquay is his running mate.
The presidency is being heavily contested by several others including football legend George Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change, veteran lawyer lawyer Cllr. Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party, former Central Bank Governor Dr. Mills Jones of the Movement for Economic Empowerment, Benoni Urey, former ally of ex-President Charles Taylor, among several others.
Twenty six political parties, some not fielding presidential candidates, are taking part in this year’s elections, according to the NEC.
Voters are divided under 5,390 polling places and 2080 voting precincts.
But as official campaigning drew to a close Sunday, there were reports of violent clashes between supporters of the ruling Unity Party (UP) and another opposition party in northwestern Lofa County.
Our reporter in the area said the national police had to intervene to bring the situation under control.
Opposition leader Brumskine on impunity
In the capital, just three hours to the end of campaigning, Charles Brumskine, Presidential candidate of the opposition Liberty Party (LP) told a news conference that he was rejecting all national police protection.
Brumskine said he was not pleased with the police, because of its failure to give findings on a recent electoral violence incidence involving his party’s supporters and those of George Weah’s Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) in the Northeastern Sanniquellie, Nimba County.
“The police has failed the people, there is no deterrence to violence,” the LP candidate told reporters.
Several people were wounded in the recent Sanniquellie clashes, a few of them seriously. Properties were either destroyed or looted.
But Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman earlier told Journalists that because everybody was focused on tomorrow’s elections, the report will be release after the polls.
The police chief said anyone responsible for electoral violence and found culpable by the police will surely be prosecuted in due course.