MONROVIA: As the National Elections Commission (NEC) continues to announce provisional results from Tuesday’s October 10th general elections held throughout the country, President George Manneh Weah’s reelection bid got a major traction yesterday, Thursday, October 12, 2023 when NEC’s results catapulted him in a commanding lead over his closest rival, the Standard Bearer of the Unity Party (UP), Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai just as the figures from the Southeastern part of Liberia tend to further cement his grip on retaining the presidency when the official results are announced.
According to the preliminary results released yesterday in Monrovia, Weah pulled an early impressive vote of 14,545 which is far-fetched above the 13,896 votes garnered by Boakai in the results declared thus far. This early lead is an upward optimism shown by the President that he is likely to retain his dominance in the county that had given him massive support since his adventure in national politics in 2005.
Montserrado County is home to more than 900,000 registered voters and a win in the county will put the President in a perfect state to extend his tenure for another 6 years. Already there are strong indications that though the official results from the elections are yet to be fully released; President Weah made an outstanding outing on October 10, 2023 far ahead of the other contenders for the presidency.
One of the indicators of his solid grip on the county has to do with the stellar performances of some of the legislative candidates on the platform of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) especially the eventual triumph of Senator Saah H. Joseph who was reelected by a huge number of votes as have been seen from all the polling centers through the county. Senator Joseph’s victory has brought the county back into the fore of CDC having lost one of the senatorial seats to Senator Darius Dillon in 2020.
In addition to Saah Joseph’s victory which has added flavor to the President’s pursuit, the electoral fortune of other representative candidates of CDC in vote rich electoral districts energized Weah’s penetration into the hearts of electorates in the county.
While Representatives Edward P. Sumo, Abu Bana Kamara and Dixon Seeboe were reelected in the densely populated Districts #12, 15 and 16 respectively, the electoral victories of Muka Kamara and Bernard Benson (DJ Blue) in Districts number #14 and 17 showed the strength of the President.
“Besides his unmatched popularity, I think it is fair enough to say that the enormous votes the President received have to do with the level of development he has been able to delivered in Montserrado County such as the improvement of electricity, community roads, construction of market structures for the women, the free tuition initiative at public tertiary institutions in the country, payment of WASSCE fees, among others. People are sensitive to these kinds of intervention and naturally during elections, they are ready to pay you back”, said William Toeson II, a public commentator told The Analyst last night.
According to Jah Wleemon Thomson, Weah’s impressive showing during the general elections defied the often held perception that Montserrado County has always belonged to the an existing opposition community against any sitting government whether the government is performing or not.
“Bookmakers were caught hands down with the results we are seeing out there in favor of the President. Indeed we will have to alter the narrative that Monrovia and by extension Montserrado county has always been the exclusive reserve of the opposition community whether an incumbent government is performing or not. We have to give it to President Weah for this feat”, he said.
It is projected that voters’ turnout in Montserrado County out of its more than 900,000 was expected to be at 70% and President Weah is tipped to win at least 75% of the total votes and the remaining 25% going to the collective opposition.
Meanwhile, President Weah’s reelection bid scooped an added advantage during the elections with a whopping block of votes coming from the Southeastern part of the country with 5 counties. The five counties, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Maryland, Sinoe and Grand Kru have a combined voting strength of more than 300,000 registered voters.
According to the latest statistics from NEC and other independent international observers, the region went to the elections with about 75% turning out to vote and up to 85% casting their votes in favor of the President.
The region since 2005, has been a strong home ground for Weah and their undiluted loyalty peaked in 2017 when the constituents overwhelmingly gave him a massive support and messages sent across the country to their kinsmen wherever they are to vote Mr. Weah which ensured his victory ahead former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
It has been reported that similar messages were sent out to all citizens of the Southeastern region to vote for him during this election.
The bloc votes from the region according to pundits have the potential to deflate any other gain the opposition may have made in other regions, especially the vote-rich Nimba County where the Unity Party featuring Senator Jeremiah Koung is pulling huge votes from the citizens.
“The Southeastern votes will be significant in these elections. They will mark the watershed of what will definitely determine who gets elected in these elections.
“President has been able to muster them to believe in his aspiration and it is paying off. I don’t think any other presidential candidate in the race has succeeded in cornering regional support as Mr. Weah. This is a masterstroke, it is strategic and reward him bigly in the coming days when NEC releases the final results”, a political pundit who asked not to be named in the papers said.
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