Liberians vote in second post-war election

Sirleaf and rival Winston Tubman as the nation seeks to cement its fragile eight-year peace.
Professor Attahiru Jega, head of the 150-member regional Ecowas observer mission, said he was optimistic about the polls.

“From the level of preparations, and what I have observed in terms of the manner of deployment of electoral personnel and material, I think Liberia is on course for a successful election,” Jega said in a press statement.

Much is at stake in the presidential and legislative polls as Liberia seeks to shake off its anguished past and become self-sufficient enough to no longer need the support of an 8 000 strong UN peacekeeping mission (UNMIL).

Sirleaf, whose campaign has been boosted by her Nobel Peace Prize announced on Friday, is credited for rebuilding the economy and ushering in massive investments, in areas such as iron ore, palm oil and oil exploration.
However the 72-year-old, who made history when she became Africa’s first president in 2005, faces criticism at home, where extreme poverty persists amid an 80 percent unemployment rate.

Her challengers, such as Tubman from the main opposition party, say she has failed to bring about reconciliation in a nation with a dizzying array of ethnic rivalries which still turn deadly from time to time.
She has also failed to implement recommendations by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission which name her on a list of people who should be barred from public office for backing warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor.

Tubman (70), nephew of Liberia’s longest serving president William Tubman, who has the crowd-pulling football superstar George Weah as his running partner, has seized upon this stain on her reputation.
“What the president could have done is try to unite the country, heal the wounds and make apologies for, show remorse for, what went on . . .” he told AFP.
Sirleaf initially promised to serve only one term, but has since said she did not realise the extent of the work required, and needs more time to rebuild the country.

“You cannot rebuild a broken country in six years,” Sirleaf, wearing a green hat and Unity Party scarf, told AFP on the sidelines of a rally on Sunday.
“This country was totally destroyed. Dysfunctional institutions, destroyed infrastructure, no laws.
“So it took us time to rebuild and we have made a lot of progress . . .

“We still have a few things to do and that is why we want to make sure we are re-elected.”
Some 1,8 million Liberians have registered to vote today in Africa’s oldest independent state, which was founded by freed American slaves in 1847. A total of 16 presidential candidates are in the running.
in parliament, 15 senatorial seats and 81 legislative seats are up for grabs. – www.telegraph.co.uk.