January 22, 2024 political transition in Liberia means the triumph of democracy, tolerance and good governance over despotism in a country once engulfed in two civil wars between 1989 and 1991.
It is the third transition which signals a good pass mark to the democratic test with Liberians telling the world that they are a united people with a common destiny.
State institutions especially the National Electoral Commission deserve the credit for ensuring that the elections are free, fair and credible.
It is also an admiration for the people of Liberia particularly ex-President George Opong Weah who ruled for only for a term and handed over the baton of power breaking away from the ways of the African oligarchs, dictators and despots would not go away even when they lose elections.
Looking at the prevailing situation back home, Sierra Leoneans feared that the worst would happen in Liberia urging authorities of the two countries to seal off the borders.
Liberians also proved Sierra Leoneans wrong as no violence of significant magnitude was reported because the Liberians saw themselves as one and they speak with one voice on issues that affect their welfare.
Sierra Leone’s Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh was invited to Liberia to see firsthand how free, fair and credible elections were conducted.
As CEC, Konneh heads the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, a body mandated by law to conduct public elections and referenda in the country.
Konneh’s visit to the neighbouring country was of no benefit to Sierra Leone whose election was held three months before Liberians went to the polls.
He was highly impressed with the Liberian election authorities for holding fair polls as compared to Sierra Leone where the June 24, 2023 election results still remain undecided.
International and local election observers reported that the polls were free and fair, and the international community had commended the new government and pledged to work with it.
The US, UK and other European ambassadors and high commissioners witnessed the inauguration of Joseph Boakai almost three months in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
It signaled the acceptance of the new government by world powers and pledged to work with it.
Although he is a fairly old man, Boakai has hit the ground running with Liberians looking to the future with hope: the hope of seeing a revamped economy, low inflation (reasonable prices for goods and services), safe drinking water, reliable electricity and the list continues.
One of the brightest examples also set by the Liberians was to accept the opposition party, Congress for Democratic Change, the party of the former President to occupy the seat of the parliamentary speaker without any brouhaha.
Such tolerance represents a leaf lent from the page of the United States book of political tolerance: the Democrats Party, eight years ago, sat on the speaker seat while the Republican candidate, Donald Trump was President.
In spite of the power mix, the two Liberian political parties sit and discuss on issues facing the country.
It is however a complete opposite in Sierra Leone where 16 parliamentarians were successfully petitioned by runners-up of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), a mere political gimmick to impose a Speaker of Parliament.
The goal to have the parliamentary speaker was achieved as SLPP’s petitions were upheld and those of APC rejected outright. No judge looked into APC’s petitions while SLPP had easy ride resulting into the removal of 10 APC parliamentarians.
The APC law makers who made it to parliament on the fateful day were physically assaulted and forcefully removed from the parliamentary building by armed policemen, an act that isolated Sierra Leone from civilised countries where opposition and ruling party parliamentarians come together in an interactive fashion.
The brutality also shocked Sierra Leone’s former colonial power, the UK whose ex-prime Minister, David Cameron visited Sierra Leone to cool down troubled waters.
Mr Cameron who is currently British Foreign Secretary was head the Commission on Fragile States.
He left Sierra Leone after a brief visit which made a little difference to Sierra Leone’s political chaos as brutality and intimidation of opposition politicians, supporters and sympathisers still continued.
Although there were reports of low cadre NEC staff attempting to beat down the system in favour of the incumbent, George Opong Weah, made no impact on the electoral process.
The errant staff were found, stopped and prosecuted, a move that sent a message to others that Liberian society does not tolerate election rigging and theft.
The prosecutions also deterred would-be offenders and strengthened the confidence of opposition politicians in the electoral process although threats of protest were widespread should the authority tamper with the votes.
Mr Weah could easily rig the elections as he was beaten by a narrow margin by the opposition leader, Joseph Boakai now President of Liberia.
Head of NEC, Davidetta Lansana supported the law and stood with Liberians in defence of democracy and not the ex-President. It is a genuine respect for the will of Liberians with whom political sovereignty ultimately rests.
However, ECSL, by its nomenclature, is meant for the people of Sierra Leone, but the commission, according to local and international election observers, fail to live up to the people’s expectations evidenced by allegations of electoral malpractices before, during and after the polls.
Concerns bordering on the printing of faceless and sub-standard voter identity cards, non-publication of the voter register, manipulation of the electoral laws and environment, intimidation and harassment among others were raised by the opposition leader, Dr Samura Kamara.
With the voter identity card, no ECSL staff could identify the voter, a real fertile ground for rigging.
In 2022, four electoral laws (the Public Elections, Political Parties Regulation Commission, Proportional Representation and Local Government Acts) were passed in quick succession to give an edge to the incumbent party.
The injection of the 11.9% threshold in the Proportional Representation law was a testimony of government’s intention to boot opposition political parties out of the race.
Such attempt narrowed the political space for opposition politicians, but a big bingo for those in power.
Government would not relent on their alleged rigging tactics even when there was a desperate call by the international community particularly ECOWAS for the rules not to be changed at the middle of the game.
Publication of voter register ahead of the election which had been a norm and law for years in Sierra Leone was ignored by the CEC to whittle down transparency in the conduct of the election.
The anomalies, according to the opposition leader, boiled down to the manner in which the election boss was installed in office.
At the time of his appointment, the NEC boss was head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, and therefore unfit to lead the election agency for fear of compromise or complicity. It was a big infringement of the constitution which disqualifies a public officer from holding the CEC’s seat.
The people’s fear was genuine as concerns and challenges were left unaddressed on to the time of elections.
In their quest to protect peace and democracy, security agencies in Liberia primarily the police also preferred the law to the President who appointed their boss, paid them salaries and looked after their welfare. They ensured that the Liberian people exercise their franchise in a peaceful and serene environment.
The Liberian police displayed respect for the freedom, human rights and dignity of the Liberians who took to the streets against a slight increase in the price of goods.
Instead of using teargas canisters, live rounds, pepper spray and hot water tanks, the police exercised their professionalism by supporting the people throughout the demonstrations.
Images on media platforms showed scenes where police officers offered water to the protesters to quench their thirst and cool them down.
Such peaceful moves put the Liberian police force on top of security situation as the protest passed off peacefully.
Neither life nor property was lost and no chicken’s leg broken in the protest that went on for a day.
It is also a different case for the elections in Sierra Leone where, according to international reports, police fail to uphold the ethics and laws of policing owing to the use disproportionate force against the people.
The Police were heavy handed in most of their responses to protests before, during and after the elections.
Sierra Leoneans witnessed saw the alleged killing of 25 protesters and 6 police officers during a protest staged in August 10, 2022 against the government in respect of a cost-of-living crisis which had been biting the people very hard.
The demonstration was held just months to the election.
A post-election protest held in September, last year was also met with resistance by the security agencies with six protesters were allegedly fatally injured.
A shoot out at APC headquarters in Freetown which nearly hit the opposition leader was also recorded and blame apportioned to the state since it was carried out by the security forces of law and order.
International dossier on Sierra Leone’s elections notably the EU report accused government of using live rounds at APC headquarters saying one person would be killed during such operations.
The brutality caused widespread voter apathy as the voters feared for their lives, a factor that led to a controversial outcome in the election. The state’s failure to investigate the violence was the most worrying factor in the drama.
However, the Liberian army also took partial credit for the smooth polls and political transition as their professionalism kept them away from lording it over the voters.
Throughout the election, there was no situation in which the Liberian Army were spotted shooting, harassing and intimidating civilians.
They stayed in the barracks throughout the election as a show of respect for the will of the people to have a government of their choice.
On the contrary, Sierra Leone Army failed to meet the people’s aspirations for a change of government as well as the peace and harmony before, during and after the elections although they are under oath to protect the people and their property.
The Military Aid to Civil Power (MACP) stipulates conditions under which the army could interfere with internal security.
According to the MACP standing task, the soldiers guard State House and State Lodge, the marine environment and other sensitive places in partnership with the police.
The soldiers, under the MACP, also protect the President and Vice President, the two highest authorities occupying sensitive positions in the land.
However, the army’s response to public order situation in the pre and post-election period was somewhat out of the scope of MACP documents.
MACP’s cross-cutting principle holds that the army would come into public order situations only after it is clear that the police lack the apparent capacity to handle a riot in the face of a continuing loss of lives and property.
Unlike Liberia where the soldiers are kept in the barracks during the elections, offices and streets in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown and other parts upcountry were militarised.
Well-armed soldiers guard ECSL facilities and other state officials apart from the President and the Vice President.
They were even deployed at some polling stations as a crowd control measure, but their presence terrified the voters for fear of pulling the trigger.
Scenes of soldiers arresting civilians in respect of allegations taking part in protests were also frequent and they occurred most times in opposition strongholds.
Many voters failed to show up at polling centres to have their names in the voter register owing to fear of arrest, and that was the only way government could disenfranchise the people for a definite advantage in the elections.
The deal has been done, but it is bad for the army institution which had established tight military-civil relations in recent times before the paopanisation of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone Army, in past years, have been taking part in community development projects and rendering humanitarian services to the people, a move that led to a healthy relationship between them and the civilians.
But, the army-public relationship turned sour since SLPP took over state governance in April, 2018.
They were apparently exploited by politicians just to ensure that SLPP had a second term with such high reputational damage to their institution. It is however never too late for the army and the police to turn over to a new leaf to regain public trust after another government takes over state in the future.
The Liberian authorities also set a good example for Sierra Leone in the election period as they allowed various political parties to campaign freely in all districts.
Politicians held well organised rallies and campaign trails selling their manifestos to the electorate. It added to the strength and beauty of democracy as the voters could make informed choices through such political messages.
However, Sierra Leone failed to trend on the Liberian path as most political parties were restrained from campaigning in some parts of the country particularly in the South-East regions heartlands of the ruling party.
APC could not reach several communities in the South-Eastern regions owing to political violence which became the norm in the electoral period with opposition politicians on the wrong end.
They received much of the violence allegedly perpetrated by youth linked to SLPP for which no one was made to answer questions either in a court of law or in any other institution of accountability.
The move to halt APC vestiges in the South-East regions started in early 2018 when SLPP was declared winner of the polls.
In Kono district, APC members were chased out of their communities and sought refuge in Massingbi town in the Northern region.
As internally displaced people, they received food and non-food items from APC politicians to ease their plight.
Such acts crystallised again in the elections although the ruling party had a safe ride in opposition strongholds.
SLPP politicians criss-crossed the North-Western regions unhurt propagating campaign messages to their constituents.
The incumbent candidate travelled to Kambia, PortLoko, Koinadugu, Falaba and even Karene, the home of the opposition leader without let.
He was also safe in Makeni city in Bombali district also the home of former President Ernest Bai Koroma.
Almost invariably, Liberia, throughout her election, never saw a situation in which political parties regulation agency attempted to hit hard on opposition politicians as was the case in Sierra Leone by way of fines and political rallies.
Here, the Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) banned rallies and assemblies in the name of peace and security.
PPRC tried hard to convince the people that rallies are bad in a politically charged situation although the government created the conditions for conflict.
Without any alternative, APC had cause to swallow the bitter pill staying away from even campaigns as fearing arrest and detention.
Although the ban on political rallies was fully complied with by APC, the rule was broken by ruling party supporters in their ecstatic jubilation for what many referred to as a sham victory.
They thronged tongue-tied in guilt on the streets tearing off APC banners and portraits of the opposition leader, and had a field day: no one was questioned about the lawless acts.
PPRC also used to impose fines on the APC despite minor political breaches while politicians of the ruling party spoke freely without any form of punishment meted to them.
Above all, ex-president George Opong Weah must take the praise as he observed the GOOD GUEST RULE despite the paraphernalia of power that surrounded him.
The art of being a good guest is knowing when to leave.
In a democracy, a leader leaves the political stage when it is clear that he no longer enjoys the people’s trust.