In Liberia, the winner of an election is only determined if the candidate has been chosen by 50% plus one of the voting population. If none of the candidates are able to obtain this absolute majority then a runoff election is held soon after.
On October 11, 2011, Liberia’s presidential election was held, yet neither Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf nor Ambassador Winston Tubman was able to obtain 50% plus one of the vote. As a result, a runoff election was held November 8, 2011.
When the runoff was announced, the CDC, which is the political party of Ambassador Winston Tubman, refused to acknowledge it. Instead, the party told its supporters to boycott the runoff in the hopes that it would not take place. The CDC claimed the runoff was unfair, unnecessary and marred by irregularities, and that the results of the original election had been incorrectly tallied due to voter fraud.
Despite there being no solid evidence of voter fraud, the CDC decided to take to the streets and protest the runoff this past Monday. Even though the election’s campaigning period had already ended, Tubman and his party advocated for the protest, asking its supporters to peacefully demonstrate. Yet, the demonstration turned ugly when protestors began throwing stones, petrol bombs and insults at pedestrians who were going about their daily business as the protest took place around them. The demonstrators also tried to protest at incumbent Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s home and when police intervened, even more chaos ensued. As a result, three people were found dead and several were wounded.
This is troubling news for a country that was destroyed after a fourteen yearlong civil war. In my opinion, controversial legal issues should be handled through Liberia’s legal system, which is in place to resolve issues fairly and peacefully. As we saw this week, literally fighting for rights without filing a formal complaint just adds to the issue’s chaos. In the case of this protest, the only thing it caused was death and a reminder of Liberia’s bloody past.
Despite the CDC’s protesting, the runoff still took place on Tuesday. I am glad my country has risen above this week’s bout of violence and continued with the election. For those who do not find it necessary to physically demonstrate, it is a symbolic showing that we believe in our country’s election system. After all, we must stay true to Liberia’s old saying that we are a “country of laws and not men.”
