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One-Party
System's A Problem; How About A 17-Party Presidential Race?
by Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
Sat. October 26, 2002
One
of the things anyone who grew up in Liberia will remember
during the heyday of the True Whig Party is the monopoly that
institution had on the political process.
As the only "legitimate" political party in the
entire country, the True Whig Party controlled everything,
from the debate of hot-button issues to the control of the
three branches of government, and the lives of Liberians who
had no say in decisions that affected them.
The True Whig Party was also a corrupt and brutal institution
which dominated the people of Liberia through outright lies
and deceits, while assuring them continuously about a better
tomorrow, until that political party ran out of luck in 1980.
The violent death of president William R. Tolbert Jr., and
the sudden rise of Samuel Kanyon Doe and his National Democratic
Party of Liberia (NDPL), quickly injected into our national
consciousness the all-too-familiar meaning of revenge, as
in payback, as the short-sighted administration of president
Doe applied to the debate his own golden rule: "do unto
them like they did unto us," as he went about callously
dismantling the multi-party aspirations of the Liberian people
during his decade-long reign as president of that country.
In the many years since Mr. Doe met his own violent death,
there has been the proliferation of political parties in and
out of Liberia. As of the time of this article, there are
reportedly 17 political parties vying for the single position
of president of Liberia.
Like anxious kids who have been denied a candy for a long
period of time, are suddenly thrown into a candy store. So
overwhelmed, the kids gets greedy and want every candy in
the store. As a result of that greediness they lose every
bit of that candy.
The presidential candidates, some of whom are also leaders
of their respective political parties are like the kids in
the candy store. It is believed by many Liberians that the
presidential candidates are not only greedy, they are arrogant,
anxious, ambitious and selfish, and will end up not getting
that candy, in this case, the Liberian presidency, come Election
Day.
But if multi-party politics is the cry of the Liberian people
than why are Liberians apprehensive about the talk of a crowded
field of 17 political parties? "The size of the country,"
a Liberian responded.
As small as Liberia is, with 43,000 square miles of land and
water, many Liberians cannot fathom the idea of so many individuals
going after a singular position, when there are other positions
in the country that needs the talents and expertise of those
running for president. Their refusal to visualize the larger
picture, according to Liberians will seal a victory for the
incumbent, a victory he doesn't deserve.
Another issue of concern is the lack of creativity and originality
on the part of some of the candidates, who are disgruntled
former member(s) of the government and other political parties;
non-team player in their own right, who left their former
political parties because of the "ego thing," as
another Liberian rightfully pointed out.
A Liberian political observer summarized it this way. "It
really doesn't take much for a Liberian to start a political
party. To be a successful owner of a political party, that
person needs a huge ego, some money, the ability to talk,
win over few die-hard blind followers, get advance education
or little education and the determination to break away from
those ever-present critics. Once those things are acquired,
one is on track to run for president of Liberia."
As troubling as it is to see fragmentation in the ranks of
the presidential candidates, and watching all of them make
public declarations for that one position, without learning
to compromise their ambitions, let's not forget that democracy
is at work here. For democracy to be successful, it has to
be practiced no matter how uncomfortable a decision is.
We cannot continue to call for democracy on one hand while
denying the multitude of political parties that are putting
forth candidates for the presidential elections of 2003.
By denying them that chance to run undermines our own democratic
aspirations.
Sungbeh Communications 2002
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