AFRICA/LIBERIA - Women played a decisive part in Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s electoral campaign

Monrovia (Fides Service) - “Women played a determinant part in the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf” says Fr. Mauro Armanino, missionary of the Society of Africa Missions in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, where people are waiting for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to be officially proclaimed a President of Liberia (see Fides 11 November 2005).
“Many women and not only members of Johnson-Sirleaf’s party were in favour of her election for at least three reasons”- said Fr Armanino - “First of all out of female solidarity an apparently banal motive but strongly felt here in Africa where sad to say women are second class citizens; the second connected with the first is that women hope that by electing Africa’s first women president they will protect their rights; the third is that most Liberian women are tired of twenty years of chaos and in Liberia and see Johnson-Sirleaf as the right person to help the country take a turn for the better”.
“The mobilisation of Liberian women is then a positive signal not only for Liberia but for the whole of Africa I think because it points to a possible path to restore peace and order by means of a collective effort starting from society itself” the missionary said.
“Women campaigned “door to door”, going from village to village, house to house, urging people to vote and showing them how to vote” said Fr Armanino.
In the meantime demonstrations continue in support of the defeated candidate former footballer George Weah, who initially denounced fraud in the second round of presidential elections on 8 November.
At midday yesterday 14 November, only a few people had gathered without Weah to move in the direction of the CEDEAO offices (Economic Community of West African countries). Today 15 November the victory of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf may be officially announced.
“So far there have been no incidents because of the small number of demonstrators and massive presence of UN peacekeepers to guarantee order until local security forces are fully efficient” the mission said. “Without the presence of these troops the situation would certainly have degenerated: in Liberia there are still too many weapons in circulation” says Fr. Armanino underlining also “the danger represented by supporters of exiled President Charles Taylor, who are numerous and capable of kindling violence should Taylor be consigned to the International Law Court charged with investigating crimes in Sierra Leone”.
Taylor, in exile in Nigeria, is accused of encouraging civil war in Sierra Leone for his own personal profit in connection with trafficking of local diamonds. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2005 righe 41 parole 494)