Date Published: 11/08/11

Liberia's president promises fresh reforms after voting

Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Tuesday promised to effect human development reforms that would spur prosperity after voting in her village, Fefe-town, located on the outskirts of Monrovia.

Johnson-Sirleaf, who left her personal residence turned presidential villa in Monrovia at 10 a.m., drove in a convoy that was protected largely by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to her village.

The West Africa correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president voted at about 11 a.m. in the largely rural Fefe-town.

Johnson-Sirleaf said her focus would be on improving the educational sector, ensuring development for her people and evolving programmes to reduce the level of poverty in the country.

On the reported killing of the opposition party’s supporters on Monday, Johnson –Sirleaf said an investigation had begun on the cause of the violence.

``Liberia is going to move forward. We will find a way to heal the wounds.''

NAN reports that the president moved to a community town hall to meet with the community members after casting her vote.

NAN also observed that most polling stations in the areas around Johnson-Sirleaf’s village had people trickling in to vote, unlike the first round of voting where the president insisted on staying on the queue before voting.

In a close-by village known as government farm, an electoral officer, Henriette Holmes, said more than a 100 people had voted, but majority took their time to leave their homes.

Abraham Jaba, a voter, who strolled into the station, said he knew the turnout would be lower so he had to take his time.

Johnson’s team had earlier embarked on a mobilisation tour on the election day, urging people to go out to the polling stations and vote for the candidate of their choice.

In an interview with NAN, the national vice chairman of Johnson-Sirleaf’s campaign team, Sheba Brown, said the turnout was slow, but would pick up before the close of voting.

``No one has the power or authority to stop people from exercising their constitutional right. It is a God-given and an inalienable right.

``If it means going out to vote and they will kill us, the blood poured will be for the peace of the country.''

The presidential candidate of the Congress for Democratic Change, Winston Tubman, who boycotted the election, said in Monrovia that the killing of some of his supporters was regrettable.

Tubman blamed the government for the outbreak of violence that resulted in the death of many.

The UN put the death toll from the crisis on two people on Tuesday.

NAN reports that the CDC secretariat was crowded with supporters on Tuesday, who were demanding the release of their members that were arrested by the Liberian Emergency Response Unit.

(NAN)