As it has always been, some Liberians have already categorized mainly the presidential candidates in the October 10, 2023, Legislative and Presidential Elections, suggesting that incumbent President, George Weah of the CDC and former Vice President, Joseph Boakai, of the former ruling Unity Party are the forerunners in the pending political contestation.
Their prediction or best guess is, it is either President Weah or former VP Boakai will win the presidency, while the rest of the candidates are underdogs or low-key candidates, who do not have the popularity or, literally speaking, meet the taste of the voting public to win.
As far as these fortunetellers are concerned, the writings on the wall speak volumes of a George Weah or a Joseph Boakai victory. The indicators, according these fortunetellers are, as the incumbent president, it is unlikely that Mr. Weah will lose the elections and for former VP Boakai, because of his many years in public service, backed by his “impeccable character” in terms of stealing monies belonging to the state, it is also unlikely that he will lose the elections.
On the other hand, others are definitive that either Weah or Boakai will win the presidency in the pending elections because unofficial and unscientific poll results have favored them.
However, while the reasons given by these soothsayers may be wrong or correct, we urge you not to dare take any candidate for granted because it is not impossible for the unexpected to happen due to many factors and ongoing public debates regarding the candidates.
For example, results of surveys conducted so far have shown that a vast majority of the citizenry is disappointed in the leadership of the incumbent President, George Weah, who they said has for the past far years of his presidency, exacerbated their suffering.
The bread and butter issues, including massive unemployment, rampant corruption, reduction in civil servants’ salaries, and insecurity are some reasons for their disappointment in President Weah and his ruling CDC Government. With this mindset of citizens, who are displeased with the current regime, it is safe to say that the chances of President Weah to get a second term of office are not impossible, but slim.
Similarly, for former Vice President Joseph Boakai, a reasonable portion of the population thinks he is too old and worst of all, sickly to be the next president of Liberia. Besides, another reasonable portion of Liberians think Boakai and his Unity Party are not trustworthy to be given state power again after having ruled for 12 years during which the former Vice President said they squandered a lot of opportunities.
So you see, judging from these factors, it is not impossible for both men, Weah and Boakai, who are being considered the forerunners in the elections, to lose at the polls because the voters could consider Cummings of the CPP, Gongloe of the LPP and others as the “lesser evils”. This is why we urge you not to dare take any of the presidential candidates for granted.
