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| Liberia
Elects First Female President in Africa |
Posted:
11.14.05 | |
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In the first election since Liberia's 14-year civil war ended, the country
is set to choose a woman as its leader, the first woman ever elected president
in Liberia or anywhere in Africa. Printer-friendly versions: PDF | |
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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a graduate of Harvard University, is poised
to become the first woman elected president of an
African country, winning 59 percent of the vote in Liberia's first
election since the end of its civil war.
Johnson-Sirleaf, a 67-year-old World Bank economist and grandmother,
beat former international soccer champion and millionaire George Weah, who once
played for Italy's AC Milan and Britain's Chelsea soccer clubs. Johnson-Sirleaf
follows Ruth Perry, who served as Liberia's interim president for nine months
from 1996 to 1997. | |
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| Weah
disputes election results | |
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But Weah and his supporters charge that the election commission rigged the
vote in favor of Johnson-Sirleaf, who is older, more experienced and who previously
served as the country's finance minister. "The world is saying this
election was free and fair, which is not true," Weah said at a recent news
conference. The 39-year-old Weah
is backed by many young people in Liberia who see his youth and international
fame as a refreshing change in a country ruined by a series of corrupt leaders.
Although international observers deny Weah's claim, the National Election
Commission is investigating and is expected to declare a final result this week. | |
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| Africa's
'Iron Ladies' | |
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Among those celebrating Johnson-Sirleaf's apparent victory are women across
Africa who see her win as a boost for women on a traditionally male-dominated
continent. Johnson-Sirleaf is one of only a few women who have been able
to rise to positions of political power in African nations.  In
Zimbabwe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru made a name for herself during the country's
liberation struggle in the 1970s. She is now one of President Robert Mugabe's
closest advisors. Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was once
vice president of the World Bank and now is known for her campaign to end corruption
in the country. And in Mozambique, Prime Minister Luisa Dias Diogo shares
the nickname "Iron Lady" with Johnson-Sirleaf. "This is the
first time the women's movement has clearly indicated to the country that it needs
to take seriously the issue of having a female president," said Zambian presidential
candidate Edith Nawakwi, about her country's 2006 election, the BBC reported. Johnson-Sirleaf
has said she wants to bring "motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency." | |
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| Rebuilding
Liberia | |
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Whoever comes out ahead in Liberia's final vote count will face a major challenge
in rebuilding the country's political and physical infrastructure.  Liberia
was once a West African success story. Founded in the early 1800s by emancipated
slaves from the United States, Liberia became a main exporter of rubber and other
raw materials.
The country also played a critical role in many of America's
conflicts and was a staging point for supplying troops during World War II and
for the prevention of communism in Africa in the 1980s. But years of civil
war have left the capital city Monrovia in ruins, the city has no running water
or electricity and many Liberians are homeless. Creating stability and fighting
poverty will be the keys to success, many say. "Our country has gotten
demonstrably poorer in the last generation," Liberian analyst Francis Nyepon
wrote in an editorial in Liberia's Daily Observer.
"Unemployment currently stands at 85 percent, while hundreds of thousands
of Liberian refugees still call displacement camps homes, and more than 100,000
ex-combatants, the majority of them children, need to be reintegrated into society,"
he said.
"With no electricity or safe drinking water for more
than a decade, rebuilding our country's shattered infrastructure must be the priority." --
Compiled by Kristina Nwazota for NewsHour Extra | |
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This [teen] is an immigrant from Mexico, and he works long hours at a local farm milking dairy cows, five hours per milking, twice a day.
