Liberia: Who Did Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Win Against?

Engulfed with joy, fear, tension and even bloodshed, Liberia's 2011 general and presidential elections have come and gone. Yet there are many tales, emotions and memories left on the minds of Liberian citizens. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won re-election on Thursday in a presidential run-off boycotted by the opposition.

“But exactly who did she win against?,” @Rwandankunda asks:

@Evode7 But the media has rubber-stamped the election as a 90% win. But exactly who did she win against? with a 30% turn out? #Liberia

@Rwandankunda again:

@geoffreyyork C'mon, how can anyone call that victory when the opposition did not participate? It is a troubling trend in Africa #Liberia

Many Voices, Many Interests, One Nation. Image courtesy of @liberiaelection.

Many Voices, Many Interests, One Nation. Image courtesy of @liberiaelection.

Reacting to the news that the main opposition figure, Winston Tubman, is seeking legal options to have President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's re-election annulled, one Liberian netizen, Moses Carter, says:

If CDC [Congress for Democratic Change] has a case, the courts are the only sources of remedy. I think this bickering over legitimate or illegitimate needs to stop by all parties and let's move Liberia forward… If this is well said, then, let me know!!!

Mohamed Kamara wonders:

Why the world medias keep describing the Liberia election run-off as ”CONTROVERSIAL ELECTION” ?

Commenting about the boycott, @Kenyaeric tweets:

Boycotting elections in #Liberia a cowardly African way of sorting out political duels leading to violence.

@sarankjones says:

some people are clearly delusional. #Tubman #Liberia #Liberia2011

The New Dispensation blog publishes a statement from the Congress for Democratic Change:

A victim of elections violence ahead of Liberia's presidential run-off. Image courtesy of @liberiaelection

Our position to not recognize the results from the runoff remains unchanged; we will NOT recognize the so called win by President Sirleaf as a result of the very flawed process leading up to the second round of the elections; our party will meet shortly to revisit and re-examine our position and if there’s either an enhanced or mitigated position, we will announce it to all

Finally, Kate Cummings blogs about election related reports appearing on Ushahidi Liberia map: 

During the last week, the majority of the map’s reports have been about the events surrounding Monday’s CDC rally turned violent, and minor incidents during the run-off and the following day. Some of the incidents reported include: attempted ballot box stealing, the torn down polling station results, tear gas fired by police when a crowd refused to give up ballot boxes, the closure of three major radio stations on charges of hate speech, the burning of a major radio station that is still under investigation, and Thursday’s release of 84 persons arrested during the rally.
Since Wednesday, the Ushahidi Liberia team has mostly been mapping news from the local media and international observers such as the Carter Center and ECOWAS. We plan to continue updating these vote counts until the final results are released. However, with recent news that opposition leader Winston Tubman will contest the results and seek legal action to hold another election next month, this election map may not go quiet simply because the last vote is counted.

2 comments

  • […] The Liberian capital Monrovia, which has for the past months been associated with riots and political tensions was the scene of splendor as Liberians from all walks of life peacefully witnessed the 2nd term inaugural ceremony of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Vice President Joseph N.Boakai on January 16, 2012. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won presidential election last year that was marred by violence and boycott. […]

  • Who did Ellen win against is a philosophical question meant to challenge our readers who are expected to decipher the coded messages people who aired their views on this issue are trying to portray…Who did Ellen win against?

    Let the thoughts and analyses get rolling…

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