Political analyst: Important lessons to be learned from Liberia’s electoral process- Ejime

According to Mr. Paul Ejime, a global political affairs specialist, Nigeria and other African nations can draw significant insights from the recently ended presidential election in Liberia.

Former national vice president Joseph Boakai won the election on November 14 after challenging incumbent president George Weah in a hotly contested run-off.

With 712,741 votes cast and nearly 99.58 percent of polling places counted, Boakai received 50.89 percent of the vote, according to the results of the election held on November 14 that were released by Mrs. Davidetta Lansanah, Chairperson of the National Electoral Commission.

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With 696,520 votes, or 49.11 percent of the total, Weah secured the victory.

Ejime, an expert in international media and communication, responded to the election by rating it as transparent over the phone with NAN on Sunday.

He claimed that by holding an honest and legitimate election, the electoral body demonstrated a certain amount of trust.

He asserts that there is a lesson to be learned about openness, faith in public servants, and faith in the electoral umpire.

“The fact that voters in Liberia did not wait for the results to be counted during the first round of the election in October is one of the major issues.” After casting their votes, they returned home.

It conveys a degree of confidence. Elections are meant to be a procedure rather than a happening. We need an electoral umpire we can rely on.

He stated, “You know that democracy is growing when people can trust the electoral commission and the political agents can be the eyes and ears of the political parties.”

The election, according to Ejime, is a “multi-stakeholder enterprise” in which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches have distinct competences.

A legislative that is independent of both the administration and the judiciary, as well as a judiciary that is competent to administer justice, are essential.

“Vote buying and selling, ballot box coups, and political coups—all of which lead to military coups—should not be practised by the populace.

“The judiciary ought to realise that it represents the last resort for the average person; in the event that the legislative and executive branches oppress the citizenry, they turn to the court. However, if the court is complicit in the downfall of democracy, then to whom would the populace turn?

He declared, “The military should understand that their role is to protect the country’s territory, not to take the lead in political governance.”