The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
January 13, 2021

“The ignorance of one voter in a Democracy impairs the security of all.”
John F. Kennedy

Sen Dillon (CPP) and Sen Kangar-Lawerence (CPP)

Midterm elections in democratic societies constitute a verdict rendered by the electorate on the performance of the executive during his or her first half of the constitutional term of office.  The December 8, 2020 midterm election was a referendum on the Weah Presidency and was clearly a resounding shellacking for the ruling party, the CDC.  While it is true that we do not have a sophisticated polling system in Liberia to give us some prognostication of what is to come before election day, we had the sense that the December 8 election results would not be a surprise.   And as it turned out, CDC went down in defeat. I do not think CDC leadership was surprised either.

After three years of incompetent leadership, a high degree of kleptocracy, economic hardship for the masses, and other governmental maleficence, the election result speaks volumes about the level of political sophistication of the Liberian electorates. They have come a long way despite the nation’s poor civic education. While the economic conditions have worsened for the masses in the past three years, the top political leaders have amassed an unprecedented level of wealth—not from the sweat of their brow, but from government coffers.  The electorate took note and expressed a negative view of the Weah government.  For example, for CDC to lose the senatorial races in Bong County and Montserrado County (two traditional political bastions for CDC), indicates that the party is in shark-infested political waters as we move toward the 2023 general elections.

The sad reality is that the defeat of the CDC will not bring economic relief to the masses nor re-engineer the executive to be productive and efficient.  Why? Because we do not have a divided government and there is no single viable opposition party that is strong enough to bring forth legislation that can benefit the masses.    As a result, the dire economic condition of the masses, the unprecedented level of kleptocracy, the unsolved murders of civil servants (Albert Peters, Gifty Lama, and George F. Fanbutu all of LRA) investigating the government and other maleficence will continue well into the next government and beyond. 

CDC still has an opportunity to alter its precarious political path. But first, it has to purge its catatonic political state of mind by exercising catharsis.  And second, regenerate. To assure the citizenry that CDC has repented for its political sins of incompetency and kleptocracy, and is born-again with a renewed capacity to govern effectively, the CDC has to recruit qualified technocrats (not politicians) from across a wide spectrum (at home and in the Diasporas) who will scientifically diagnose the Republic’s illness and recommend the best scientific solutions to cure incompetency, mitigate corruption, and address other societal illnesses. They will put forward economic and social policies that will benefit the masses.  Does the party have the political acumen or the willpower to so? I think not.

 The so-called Collaborating Political Parties’ (CPP) victory in the midterm election may turn out to be a political conundrum (leadership ego and desire for power) as we move toward the 2023 general election because its constitution is not built on a unified foundation.  In fact, it may be CDC’s path to recovery because the political lava within the CPP is beginning to bubble; it is most likely to erupt as we move closer to the general election.   Is CDC intelligent enough to capitalize on the CPP’s political maelstrom? I think not.

To stop CDC from a second presidential victory, and most especially to safeguard the Republic from sliding down further into a political purgatory, CPP has to do two things: first, disband now and let each political party begin to build grassroots political movements to compete in the 2023 general elections; second, change the collaborating concept to solidarity and select Mr. Dillion, who has now become a political superstar in Liberia as the presidential candidate.  Without these two formulas, CDC is most likely to win a second term and for certain Liberia is doomed. 

J. Patrick Flomo

The defeat of the referendum (especially Dual Citizenship) in the midterm election was due to poor communication and education of the general public and the electorate by the government and other proponents.  For us in the Diasporas (especially those who still carry full Liberian citizenship), the question of dual citizenship is of paramount importance.  We need to review what went wrong and regenerate a strategy for the 2023 general elections.  As to the broader question of the general referendum, the government was not a disinterested party, and as a result, it was not in its interest to advocate its passage.  We need a disinterested party to educate the general public on the importance of passing these referenda, especially those items dealing with legislative and executive terms of office and legislature salaries. 

An election is the free exercise of constitutional power by the people in a Democracy to elect a government that will help improve their lives. For eight decades, the masses of Liberia have not experienced the benefits of this theory.  Will the 2023 elections become our redemption?  I hope so.  The preamble to our constitution begins with “WE THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA…”  and with this phrase, I believe we have the rights and power to do so.  Let’s not squander this awesome power.  As Lincoln said, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”