4 July 2011
As the nation moves closer to this year’s general elections, journalist Jay Nagbe Sloh has warned President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her ruling Unity Party not to take the opposition parties, especially George Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), for granted.
Mr. Sloh, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Monrovia-based Modern Communications International, publishers of the Liberian Mirror, an online news magazine, says he believes this year’s elections, especially for the presidency, will be “a lot more different from the past two elections.”
The “grassroots political activist”, widely credited for his usual straight-forward political opinions, notes, “Since the last two elections held in 1997 and 2005, the political dynamics and landscape have changed tremendously to the extent that 2011 is now capable of producing upsets and surprises that have the propensity to remake Liberia for good or bad.”
He notes further, “1997 and 2005 were produced by nasty wars with hidden guns all over the place. Many people were afraid to speak out; in 1997 and 2005, too many Liberians stayed away from political activities for the same war-related fears. In 1997 and 2005, too many Liberians were in exile and could not vote; in 1997, Mrs. Sirleaf’s main challenger beat her because he had the biggest guns to instill enough fear in our people to vote for peace in disguise. In 2005, Mrs. Sirleaf’s main challenger, who almost beat her, was a man with just one item on his resume; and that was foot-balling, a situation that scared the devil out of the international community and academic Liberians.”
Mr. Sloh the remarks Saturday when he served as guest speaker at the official launch ceremonies of Crusaders for Ellen’s Second Term (CREST), held at the Isaac Davis School in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
He contrasted the last two elections with the pending 2011 by noting, “This year, there is more freedom of movement, unprecedented freedom of speech and of association, making way for people to openly talk about the president and her government without fear”.
In addition, he said, “There will be more voters than in each of the last two elections; many Liberians in exile, including me, who did not vote in the last two, will vote this year.
“This year, the former warlords that may run are now as harmless as the crawling snail that we will not fear. This year, George Weah has stepped below the punching line, and the CDC has substituted him with a man whose resume, minus presidential experience, squarely matches the President’s; then there is the Dew Mayson rebellion against the woman he helped elect President in 2005. So, as you can see, the work for the President, your party and its auxiliaries is cut out.”
The journalist-cum-activist told the heavy crowd of Ellen supporters that their candidate “will only win if she connects well with the common people, if her campaign managers think outside of the box, and all of her supporters can work extra hours to win minds for the President.”
He reminded the gathering that President has made “too much progress in the last six years of her presidency” and that as a result of her hard work, Liberia was almost debt free today.
“All roads in central Monrovia have been paved and hundreds of feeder roads throughout the country have been reconditioned; Caldwell Road, Pipeline Road, and other roads have also been paved; she has brought in some US $ 17 billion foreign investments into this country,” he said.
He said while the president’s achievements were there for all to see, there was need for her campaign managers to communicate their impacts to the masses, who, he said, held the keys to the Executive Mansion.
“For the president to win, and win convincingly, all of you must believe in her, work hard, and unite. It will take foot soldiers like you to make her win, not the big shots and talkers that make up her campaign. You must focus on the undecided while working to change the minds of the misplaced,” he said, noting elections were about numbers.
On the possibility of a second round in the presidential race, Sloh expressed fears about the possibility of the president defeating a united opposition.
He therefore prevailed on the president’s supporters to ensure that she “wins big time” in the first round.
He cited Guinea and Ivory Coast in recent elections where the opposition united in second rounds to beat incumbents and stir violence.
At the end of his speech, Sloh donated L$30,000.00 to the organization.
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