On 2nd Thoughts: Bomi has sent a message to the rest of Liberia
By Othello B. Garblah
Last week, citizens of Bomi County booed and shouted No, no, when President George Weah introduced Senator Morris Saytumah at the start of his re-election campaign in Western Liberia.
Sen. Saytumah is one of two senators from Bomi County. Like his colleague Sen. Edwin Melvin Snowe, both men are not members of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC but have aligned themselves with the CDC for the 2023 October 10, Presidential and Legislative elections.
Unlike Sen. Snowe, Sen. Saytumah previously elected on the former ruling Unity Party ticket is seeking re-election in October and has thought to align himself with President Weah and CDC to boost his re-election chances.
However, the citizens are not buying into that and have been emphatic and very vociferous in making their feelings known when it comes to giving Sen. Saytumah another nine years in the Senate.
A former minister of state for Economic Affairs under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration, Sen. Saytumah has become very unpopular with his people over time.
Sen. Saytumah, according to those opposing his re-election in the county has made little or no impact on the lives of the people in the county. His relationship with his people has been very poor to say the least-that is according to citizens in the area. Some say he lives in total isolation and wonder how he even got elected in the first place.
His upright public rejection by citizens against his re-election speaks volume of how far the Liberian voting populace have come in terms of electing their officials.
The booing and shouting of no, no, to the introduction of Sen. Saytumah by President Weah as someone who the electorate should vote for because of his alignment with him has sent a very clear message of how sophisticated Liberian voters are becoming.
It is a clear demonstration of their sophistication, that no matter whose shadow you hide behind, regardless of their loyalty and love for that person, they will outrightly reject you based on your own performance.
The upright rejection of Sen. Saytumah right before the very eyes of President Weah, though uncomfortable, but it’s saying that Liberian electorates are beginning to think for themselves.
Many of the country’s current legislators got elected because of placing their photos with that of an aspiring presidential candidate or say in the case of CDC lawmakers-President Weah.
Over time, majority if not all have performed dismally in their districts and counties but want to hide behind the popularity of President Weah to get re-elected. This is a message that should resonate with them as well.
Moreover, this should also be a warning to all presidential candidates who are roaming the country campaigning with candidates (sitting lawmakers) who have made little or no impact on the lives of their citizens but are now seeking re-elections and using their popularities to win voters over. These failed lawmakers could be thieves in their fest.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Bomi have sent a message that the rest of Liberia should take queue. That is, you cannot elect an individual because his or her hand has been lifted by someone you have explicit confidence in. Candidates should be elected based on their ability to deliver not on alignment.
Presidential candidates too should be very careful to avoid these failed politicians becoming an excess baggage for their campaigns. Politics, they say is about the numbers, but some numbers come in the form of subtraction, not addition.
There are presidential candidates in the current race whose alignment with some politicians is going to cause them a great due because Liberians would think that voting for these candidates would mean restoring them to state power.
