EMOL urges Liberians to register to vote
A Liberian Non-Governmental Organization based in the United States of America (USA) known as the Emancipation Movement of Liberia (EMOL) is calling on all eligible voters here to register and participate in the pending presidential and representativeselections in October.
EMOL’s Executive Director, Liberian journalist Mr. JarwinkenWiah said, Liberians can only exercise their constitutional rights to vote wisely during the elections if they registered during the voters’ registration exercise, which starts in February.
In a press statement, he also called on Liberians who are still sitting on the fence to join their fellow compatriots in exercising their political franchise by registering to vote. EMOL said the months of February and March 2017 mark a new and rewarding beginning for Liberians irrespective of ethnicity, religion, status, disability, sex and race to make use of the opportunity provided in the Constitution.
It indicated that the pending elections will eventually tell the worldover that Liberians have decided to maintain peace and security, noting that the 2017 elections will also determine where the country go after the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Government shall have relinquished state power in January 2018.
The organization further urged Liberians irrespective of their political affiliations or alignments to ask all candidates vying for positions of power, what is wrong with Liberia that they want to fix or how they intend to address the country’s many needs.
The group added that priority is not given to productivity in terms of awarding salaries and other benefits to those serving in position of power. EMOL observed that as a result, everyone is scrambling for government positions because there is no accountability in terms of productivity and transparency regarding distribution and application of the country’s resources.
“There is a structural problem which indicates that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in Liberia earn more salary than the President of the United States”, it added.
According to EMOL, all 103 representatives and 30 senators at the Liberian Legislature earn more salary than their United States counterparts, adding that in the United States both representatives and senators earn the same salary, which is the opposite in Liberia.
EMOL said it has realized that Liberia’s problems are not due to ethnicity, religion or any particular tradition, but they are due to non-existing awareness and empowerment structures.
The non-existence of these structures, EMOL added, is also the obvious reason for sham patriotism, noting that this is also why there is no legacy-driven leadership, and for these reasons, it is highly unlikely for majority of the Liberian people to experience true freedom, rule of law and learning and other empowerment opportunities based on competing ideas, no matter who is in a position of power.
