Sirleaf re-election set in Liberia amid boycott
Source: Agencies |
November 9, 2011, Wednesday
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AFRICA'S first elected female president headed toward easy re-election yesterday with her sole opponent boycotting Liberia's runoff, and ignoring entreaties from the United States and the United Nations to participate in what observers say is a free and fair vote.
The presidential election is the first being organized by the Liberian government rather than by the UN since the end of the country's horrific civil war eight years ago.
UN peacekeepers yesterday deployed to the opposition party headquarters in Monrovia, where one person was killed in rioting the day before. Armored personnel carriers stood guard at incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's home as she left to vote.
Winston Tubman, a former UN diplomat who dropped out of the race last week, called on supporters to withhold their vote in protest.
The boycott won't stop Sirleaf from winning, but it could undercut her victory and delegitimize her government since she is running unopposed. International election monitors said Tubman's claims of fraud are unsubstantiated and both the US and the UN Security Council issued sharp criticism, calling on him to reverse his decision and encouraging citizens to vote.
"It's about our future and our children's. Even if I don't want the government, it does not mean I can't vote," said Kollie Kennedy, who was waiting her turn at a polling station in Monrovia. "It's about Liberia."
The presidential election is the first being organized by the Liberian government rather than by the UN since the end of the country's horrific civil war eight years ago.
UN peacekeepers yesterday deployed to the opposition party headquarters in Monrovia, where one person was killed in rioting the day before. Armored personnel carriers stood guard at incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's home as she left to vote.
Winston Tubman, a former UN diplomat who dropped out of the race last week, called on supporters to withhold their vote in protest.
The boycott won't stop Sirleaf from winning, but it could undercut her victory and delegitimize her government since she is running unopposed. International election monitors said Tubman's claims of fraud are unsubstantiated and both the US and the UN Security Council issued sharp criticism, calling on him to reverse his decision and encouraging citizens to vote.
"It's about our future and our children's. Even if I don't want the government, it does not mean I can't vote," said Kollie Kennedy, who was waiting her turn at a polling station in Monrovia. "It's about Liberia."
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