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Massive turnout at Liberia polls
LIBERIANS demonstrated their readiness for democratic rule yesterday when they turned out en-masse for the country's presidential and general elections.
The queues were long and winding, a confirmation of the voters' excitement and enthusiasm to put the ugly experiences of the wars behind them. The interim government declared yesterday as public holiday to allow the people perform their civic responsibility.
Taxis were however permitted to move around, as there was no strict policing of movement. The people, young and old, were just too ready for the exercise that they voluntarily closed shops to join the queues.
At about 11 a.m., one of the top contenders for the presidency, ace footballer, Mr. George Opng Weah, voted at the Kendeja High School in the Paynseville neighbourhood were he lives.
The aspirant complained of delay in kick-off time and in the supply of polling materials.
He also complained of the rowdiness at the centres and the fact that the facilities were overstretched.
Weah said: "The voting process is slow, the place is small and facilities are not enough, you can see the people standing outside. They will stand from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Besides, they started late and they are not following procedure, they need to start work because people cannot stay out here through out the day."
Weah had attempted calling the Liberian Election Commission to lodge his complaints, but the officials appeared to have switched off for the obvious reason of avoiding being distracted by the contestants.
Ambassador Ebenezer Debra, the Ghanaian, who heads the (ECOWAS) team monitoring the polls, said there was nothing to worry about Weah's complaint as it was not strange to have slight delays.
He said: "Don't let us be deterred by minor things like delays in bringing voting materials. We have a big responsibility to put Liberia on the right course. At the end of the day, everybody who is queuing will be allowed to vote.
"We have to make do with what we have. We want to hand over to future Liberians a prosperous country. Things have gone off course, but let us make do with what we have. After all, it has been a long process and by God's grace, we are moving to make a momentous decision to put up leaders who will move Liberia forward," he stated.
The Head of the ECOWAS Mediation Group, Nigeria's Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar in response to Weah's complaint wondered what else the aspirant wanted.
Abubakar was at the St. Peter's Lutheran High School polling centre where he expressed satisfaction with the pattern of voting.
He said: "There is no intimidation and no encumbrances. As far as I know, I have not received any report that polling materials could not get to some polling centres".
Although he agreed that some terrain were difficult to reach as bridges linking them with major towns had collapsed, he said the electoral officials had ensured that materials were carried on heads across such areas.
At one of the stations, voters started lining up as early as 2 a.m., six hours before polls opened.
"We need a president who can provide for our needs. Look around, we have no electrical current, no clean drinking water, no health clinics," said 42-year-old civil servant, Joseph Parhmilnee.
Twenty-two candidates are vying for the top job in Liberia. About 15,000 United Nations (UN) peace-keepers are keeping the calm in the country.
While no polling data exist, many believe the front-runner is former international soccer phenomenon George Weah, 40, whose rise from a Monrovia slum to soccer stardom has captivated much of Liberia's youths, including many among the 100,000 demobilised fighters who raped, pillaged and murdered during the civil war.
But Weah's critics say he has neither the education nor the management experience to govern Liberia's three million people.
Also drawing large crowds at rallies is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated 66-year-old veteran of Liberia's often-deadly politics.
In one city centre polling station, just 50 people had voted in two hours, while hundreds of people waited outside.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporters at polling stations in the capital, Monrovia, and in populous Nimba County say they opened on time.
But speaking from a central Monrovia school, the BBC News Website's Joseph Winter says the start of voting there was delayed, as ballot papers only arrived at 0810 local time (0910 GMT) - some 10 minutes after the polls should have opened.
Election officials had hired porters to deliver ballot boxes to the more than 3,000 polling places, and then return them.
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