Who is the right Person to vote for?

In the glossary of the Political Culture of Liberia as it relates to election, the caption of this article has become another vocabulary. It can be argued that in the minds of critics, the majority votes that inaugurated Mr. Charles G. Taylor as President of Liberia in 1997 reflected that he was the right person. Similarly, the majority of the votes that inaugurated Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the first and second term as President also reflected that she too was the right person.

Over the years, many of the people that saw the head of the current regime as the right person to perform according to their aspirations are too critical and disappointed that nothing has been done to reduce the hardship and development as promised by political platform or manifesto.

Moreover, music about “The Government Fool us, Lie to us” arguably expressing frustration continue to polarize not only the social atmosphere but political as well.

Following the recent assertion of Foreign Minister Hon. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan that he will not be inactive come 2017 election, Sky FM 107.0 opened the phone lines to solicit the general public interpretations of Ngafuan’sassertion. All of the callers alluded or inferred his ambition for the Presidency even though his assertion did not specifically pinpointed that he is vying for the nation’s highest office (President of the Republic of Liberia). As expected, many of the callers in similar tone but different dictions asserted “this time around, we will not be fooled, we will vote for the right person”

The stress on the emphatic assertion on “we will vote for the right person” has caught my attention to the extent of eliciting the following question considered as the crux of this article.

Who is the right person, how can such person be measured or what determines the right person, will Liberia ever get the right person?These are questions which are very difficult to answer.

The few persons that were asked responded to the question that it is difficult to determine the right person because the complaints from people suggest that those considered as the right persons turned out to be the wrong persons. One of them said the only way to determine the right person is by their performance while in position.In whatever case, this article attempts to opinionate the answers or provides insight that you may not agree with which is obvious in intellectual settings.

Granted that not all will be satisfied, however it can be argued that the too many criticisms that disfavored the government suggests the wrong persons that also means lack of conceptual understanding of who is the right person.

From observation as it relates to elections in Liberia, it can be argued that many people employed credential coupled with political or administrative experience to define or determine the right person. Doubtlessly, credential coupled with experience is important for leadership especially for contemporary society. This could be the reason why Ambassador George M. Weah was affected during the 2005 elections for which he fought hard to obtain a post graduate degree.

On the contrary, it can also be argued that credential coupled with experience seems not to define or determine who the right person is. Had it been so, most of the people will not be complaining on grounds of what they considered as failure of the government to translate promises into actions. In other words, academic competences coupled with political and administrative experiences that are glaring and cannot be refuted has failed to deliver what may have influenced the political behavior of those vehemently criticizing the government.

Another observed determinant of the right person as far the political culture of Liberia is concerned is political talkative noticed for badmouthing the government. Their loquaciousness has falsely convinced the public that they are the right persons. Today as we speak, society is regretting about its decision that voted some of them into office on grounds of their failures to translate all of the talking or promises into actions. In other words, it can be argued that the society regrets refuting political talkative to be the determinant factor of who is the right person.

on the people conceptualization of who is the right person, it can be argued that right
person is the one with the inclination of influencing people political behavior by give out alms, carrying out so called projects that have conditional sustainability. As an emerging embodiment of the Liberia political culture, this inclination that answers the question “What did you do for us before we must vote for you”? This may be not erroneous. However, it arguably has the implication for abandoning the people because the focus will be on how to replenish the source or the thought that “I have already bought your votes, so what do I owe your”?

Political manifesto or platform always fascinating is another determinant factor of the right person. Of course, these promises are relevant for influencing political behavior. However, it can be argued that all of the criticisms disfavored the government suggests that political manifesto or platform by itself is good but viewed as empty promises when it fails or lacks the political will to impact the society as expected.

Some may even define profile of the right person from advocacy background such as human right activists, political activists, and so on. You may agree or disagree with this article about how opinions on some people that were privileged to work in government are divided today. Some viewed high level of behavioral inconsistency between their actions in government and crux of their advocacies. Others viewed high level of behavior consistency between their actions in government and the crux of their advocacies.

Finally, following people track record is another key aspect of who is the right person. Of course track record is very crucial for a conscious and progressive society. In the case of Liberia, it can be argued that track record whether ignore or attract attention has dashed the aspiration of those complaining that nothing is been to assuage their hardships.

In the candid view of the author, voting for the right person is never wrong. People wanting state power must have the relevant leadership profile and track record capable of influencing political or voting behavior of people. In the case of Liberia, all of the observed determinants of who is the right person arguably prove to be futile as evidenced by the too much unfavorable criticisms.

This article fears that the same people asserting for the right person come 2017 may be disappointed or frustrated should they employ all of the determinants of who is the right person explained in this article. This assertion is not in any way persuading you from voting. It is very much crucial for the future of Liberia as such; you must vote your choice wisely. In order for you not to be frustrated and disappointed, there is need for you to understand that there is a variable often influenced the political behavior of people with all of the competences yet considered as failure.

This variable is the political culture of Liberia that requires overhauling. It is a culture that encourages Re-cycle Politicians whose profiles reflect the history of fiasco regimes. It is culture that still nurtures the patronage system or what Atty. Philip Wesseh described in one of his articles as the “One man show” It is this culture that gives those in leadership the wrong impression that Liberian people only make empty noises and carry on with their lives, don’t mind their noises. It is culture that erroneously allows the so called brotherhood or sisterhood fraternity to undermine the very existence of the government.

Let it be emphatic that fraternity by itself worth existence as a global social phenomenon. But this article frowns on any fraternity that is used to circumvent standards that have the implications for good governance critical to national development. It is culture that also rewards people with tainted character on grounds of what is termed as mere allegation or no evidence. No matter how people will employ competence to define the right person, the culture as a variable will always influenced the right intention the person must have brought to the position or leadership.