Article 25: The GlobeMed Blog header

A Pivotal Moment for Progress: 2011 Liberian National Elections

by Jill Shah on October 18, 2011

Written by Colin Yee: Colin is a senior at the University of Michigan studying anthropology and cellular and molecular biology. He is Co-President of GlobeMed at the University of Michigan and interned with Tiyatien Health, the chapter's partner organization in Zwedru, Liberia, during the summer of 2011 to support Tiyatien Health’s accompanier program.
 
 
Today marks one week since the completion of Liberia’s 2011 national elections -- the first round of elections since 2005, when Africa’s first woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was democratically elected. This can be viewed as another progressive step forward for a country that has been re-building since the conclusion of its 14-year civil war in 2003. Nearly a quarter million Liberians were lost during the war, and it left the country with a tattered government, a nearly non-existent health care system, and rampant corruption within many levels of the country. Much of the country and the rest of the world is hoping for the just and peaceful completion of the 2011 elections process that would help to ensure security, peace, and progress for Liberia as it continues to re-build.
 
Preliminary election results
 

 
Preliminary poll results indicate that there are three leading parties in the vying for Liberia’s presidency. The Unity Party (UP, represented by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and running mate Joseph Boakai) is shown to be in the lead with about 44% of the national vote. The UP has been considered the favorite for the 2011 elections, with its reputation having been bolstered by the extensive list of accomplishments that Sirleaf and her administration have acquired over its six-year leadership of the country. Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, has previously held the position of Liberia’s finance minister, as well as positions within Citibank, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC, represented by Winston Tubman and running mate George Weah) is the UP’s main contender and is shown to be trailing the Unity Party at about 32% of the national vote. Tubman is the nephew of Liberia’s longest-serving president, William Tubman, is a Harvard-trained lawyer, and previously held the position of Liberia’s justice minister. Tubman came fourth in the 2005 elections, while his running mate and highly-acclaimed soccer star, George Weah, came second to Sirleaf in the second round of elections.

The National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP, represented by Prince Johnson and running mate Lavala Supuwood) is shown to be trailing the national election in third place with about 12% of the national vote. During the First Liberian Civil War, Johnson was a notorious rebel warlord, whose forces infamously videotaped the torture and murder of dictator Samuel Doe in 1990. Since the resolution of the civil war, Johnson became a born-again Christian pastor and was elected to the senate in 2005.

As the results of the October 11 results are being processed, there has been an increasing sense that none of the candidates will exceed the 50% of the total national vote that is required to avoid a run-off election. If the aforementioned preliminary poll results stay relatively stable, a run-off election will be held on November 8 between Sirleaf and Tubman.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: A Controversial Candidate
 
 
 
President Sirleaf remains the favorite internationally, with her robust résumé including respectable positions within development agencies and within the Liberian government in the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s. As president, Sirleaf has been an advocate for the national education system, as well as anti-corruption movements. Her administration established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which aims to promote national peace, security, and reconciliation through redressing issues incited by the civil war. The Sirleaf administration also led the movement that reduced Liberia’s burden of international debt by billions of dollars, a pivotal accomplishment and stride forward for a developing country. Most recently, Sirleaf was announced to be a 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, along with compatriot Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman of Yemen.

Despite such international recognition, Sirleaf’s image within Liberia does not always reflect her global popularity. The country still possesses one of the highest rates of unemployment globally and much of the population lives in immense poverty. Many believe that her administration is working to heighten their international glory, rather than benefit their fellow Liberians. Furthermore, Sirleaf has continually received criticism for supporting former-president and warlord Charles Taylor at the start of the civil war (Taylow is now on trial at The Hague for his atrocious war crimes). And from the announcement of her 2011 presidential candidacy, Sirleaf has been constantly criticized for turning back on her initial declaration in 2005 of limiting herself to a single term as president.
 
Liberia Moving Forward & Tiyatien Health
 

 
 
Regardless of the national and international perception of Sirleaf and of the presidential candidate who will emerge victorious, a shift in the perception of Liberia must occur in order for progress and re-building to be sustained. Rather than continuing to consider Liberia as a stagnant, post-conflict country, it should be viewed for what it really is: a dynamic country that is proactively and productively re-building its government, infrastructure, and communities after being ravaged by a civil war. This is not to say that the country is back to normal and that we can completely turn our attention elsewhere. It is meant to emphasize the fact that the country is heading in the right direction with the aid of strong political will, long-term international partnerships, and a determined sense of nationalism for those individuals who wish to see Liberia build back better.

Tiyatien Health (TH) in Zwedru, Liberia is a clear example of this. TH was founded in 2007 by survivors of the civil war, who felt morally obligated to return to their home country to help it re-build by leveraging their new skills, resources, and connections. TH’s main goal is to advance the fundamental rights and health of Liberia’s rural poor. They work toward this goal by employing a cadre of nearly 40 community health workers (known as “accompaniers”) to disperse life-saving health services to the rural communities of Southeast Liberia, along with acting as counselors, mentors, and friends to their fellow community members. In addition to TH’s accompanier program, TH helps to empower the community with various economic initiatives and social support groups.
Partnership with GlobeMed & the 40 with 40
 


GlobeMed at the University of Michigan is currently in its third year of partnership with Tiyatien Health. Over this time, the chapter of nearly 40 students has raised over $16,000 to support a women’s sewing initiative and skills center, a community farming initiative, and most recently, TH’s accompanier program. Over the summer of 2011, the GlobeMed chapter at the University of Michigan provided TH with two interns in Zwedru, who worked to collect qualitative narratives of TH’s vital accompaniers, as well as to continue to support and advocate for TH’s innovative accompanier program.

Regardless of who holds the Liberian presidency after this year’s elections, GlobeMed firmly believes that the country will continue to re-build and advance, and the long-term partnership shared by TH and GlobeMed is a tangible manifestation of this belief. Through these types of partnerships, the global community will take notice that solidarity through pragmatic and sustained action can incite change and inevitably, a broad social movement.
 
 

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