The Analyst’s Staff Writers looks at the victory remarks of Liberia’s and Africa’s first woman president-elect, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a woman of humble background but yet of remarkable achievements.
“My fellow Liberians, this election also mark the end of an era, an era of political and social exclusion.
“We will create an inclusive government. We will also work to end other types of exclusions. Never again, in this nation, shall a person or a group of persons feel so excluded that they have to resort to violence in the name of justice.
“Every Liberian, no matter where you come from, no matter what religious, political party or ethnic group you belong to, will feel proud to belong to this new Liberia.”
These were the applause-punctuated victory acceptance remarks of President-elect Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf yesterday at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia.
Madam Sirleaf was responding to a statement by the Chairman of the National Elections Commission, Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris, officially declaring her the winner of the November 8 presidential runoff and duly certificating her.
According to NEC, the president-elect pooled 478,526 out of the 805,572 valid votes cast representing 59.4% while her rival, George Weah, pooled 327,046 or 40.6% of the total valid vote cast. This number, according a NEC report, represents 61% of those who registered to vote; the first round drew more than 70% turnout.
Madam Sirleaf owes her election to the belief amongst the electorates that she was the better prepared of the two to readily meet Liberia’s post-war challenges that run from social inequity to widening economic disparity topped by massive unemployment, spiraling crimes, and homelessness amongst those that were routed by 15 years of civil war.
And the UP’s “Iron Lady,” and perhaps Africa’s equivalence of Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, is not hiding from responsibility but beating her chest in affirmation: “My fellow citizens: Let me make a new promise: I shall spare neither time nor energy in pursuit of efforts to fulfill the promises I have made to you.”
Key amongst the promises she made during the campaign era is that her administration will conduct business in transparency while remaining accountable to the Liberian people.
“These were not empty campaign promises, and we stand by each one of them. We will implement promises we made. We will work to create jobs. We will help our farmers to return to the land and grow food for self-sufficiency.
We will work to improve our social conditions, including the restoration of electricity and water services in a timely manner. We will improve education, equip our schools and universities, and improve the working conditions of teachers,” she said, being careful not to heighten hopes and aspirations too soon by attaching a timetable of implementation.
Having toured the cities, towns, villages, and hamlets of leeward Liberia some of them cut off by bad roads, and listened to voters carefully throughout the campaign, she said, she was prepared to attack corruption and in addition to that, efficiently manage and use public funds for the development of the country as well as for the improvement of the lives of the people.
In her view, Liberians had surmounted the difficult problem of choosing a leader from amongst 22 qualified contenders and now was the time for a new beginning built in mutual trust and love of nation.
A UP victory, she noted, signifies the dawn of a new day for Liberia and Liberians.
“Indeed, after one of the most barbaric and fratricidal war in the modern history of Africa, Liberians have turned, literally made an about face, to carry out one of the most peaceful, free and fair elections seen anywhere on the continent. This election and the certification occasion we have just witnessed represent a victory for the people of Liberia. It is a victory over narrow partisanship, tribalism, and other forms of division that have eaten at our national fabric and plagued us all for so long.”
She believes that if all Liberians view the victory as evidence of their explicit belief in the ability and capacity of the UP team it would translate into a victory for all those who believe in change.
“Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai and I are humbled by the vote of confidence expressed by you, the people of this country, for our vision of a new, vibrant nation embracing change, forging a new political order, and reclaiming its pride place within the community of civilized and democratic nation-states.
Through your vote, you, our people, have chosen to move forward, and have expressed your trust in our team and to lay the foundation of a new, strong, democratic and proud Liberia. With a deep sense of humility and gratitude, I accept the challenge and the mandate to lead our country.
And I thank you for the mandate you have given to our team to lead our country into a new era of peace, security, prosperity, democracy, human rights, social justice, equality, and happiness. More importantly, you have backed your words with deeds. You have worked for change. You have voted for change. Now, the change you worked and voted for is here,” the president-elect said.
She then disclosed plans to shortly begin work on a framework for a new administration, promising to build an administration that will reflect the cultural, political, and ethnic diversity of Liberia.
Whatever that will mean in terms of local government, ministerial, and managerial placements, observers say, will not be known at least for the next couple of weeks, but what seems clear is that she will have to cast a delicate balance in making selections that will not cast her administration in a blame of sectionalist or paternalistic considerations.
Many said she has no option to walking a chalk-line and she is not about to lose sight of that: “Today marks the beginning of a new journey in the history of our nation. A history that has meaning far beyond our nation’s borders: the election of Africa’s first democratically elected female president.”
Meanwhile, the president-elect has congratulated the Liberian people, all those who participated in the electoral process, and especially Mr. George Weah, for their impressive showing in the elections.
She also thanked NEC, the ICGL, and ECOWAS for their “commitment and persistence in bring peace, sanity, and an unprecedented democratic election” to Liberia.
