Unofficial results raise CDC hopes

Unofficial preliminary election results emanating from the just ended 26, December Presidential runoff appear to have raised hopes of partisans of the Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC as the favorite to win the prolonged presidential race ahead of the Unity Party Vice President Joseph N. Boakai.

Speaking to the New Dawn on 27 December in Monrovia, some citizens interviewed by this paper say as Liberia transitions from one democratically elected government to another, it is their hope that the incoming president will prioritize basic social services.

Mrs. Comfort Gibson, Julia Kesselly and Sampson Washington, teachers at the St. Louis School of Cosmetology in Wian Town, outside Monrovia say anyone who becomes the country’s next president should focus on attracting foreign investments to stabilize the economy.

They also add that Liberians continue to experience bad governance, corruption, poor health and poor learning environment and alleged wanton abuse of the country’s natural resources which benefit high profile government officials.

According to them, it is also their expectation that the elected government will revisit some of the unnecessary concession agreements entered into with some foreign companies that do not in any way benefit the nation and its people.

They maintain that if the country should make progress in revamping its economy, measures should be put into place to [improve] some of the social agreements as a way of encouraging credible investors who are interested in the recovery process of Liberia.

They call on the incoming government to continue engaging international partners such as the International Monitoring Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others to transform the country.

By Emmanuel Mondaye–Edited by Winston W. Parley