I am reading from various sons and daughters from Nimba County following the Tuesday by-elections and there is a common theme of a united Nimba. Unfortunately, most of these same people are blaming Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh of either betraying the County or trying to divide the county. I’m completely confused as to what constitutes betrayal or divisiveness in anyone seeking an elected office. Doesn’t she have the right to compete? I think it was Edith’s right to seek the vacant senatorial seat in her county, just as it was the right of the people of Nimba to choose a candidate of their choice. None of the candidates who sought the office, therefore, committed any wrongdoing. Those who lined up behind each candidate were not enemies but rather people with different political affiliations. In democracy, we disagree to agree. As a 10th grader in 1985, in a country facing a critical elections of imminent violence, my religion doctrine instructor, Sister Kathlyn Wahl reminded us that we could be siblings and yet hold different political opinions as well as belong to different political parties.
I know this is quite difficult to obtain in our society, but not impossible. Once we demonstrate political tolerance, accepting that we can have varying opinions on politics and other issues, divergemce becomes possible. To a larger extent, divergent of views makes democracy, especially democracy which rests on one man, one vote achievable. If every person is able to process the information provided during campaign without pressure from tribal, religious, county or community leaders the better the outcome of each election.
We need to avoid block voting where we see our community, tribe, county or religion as a block that belongs to a particular party. So much so, if one of our own expressed support or joined another party not supported by the group that person is viewed as a sellout. This is not the democracy that we seek for Liberia. We all may not see it as it is, but block voting serves the interest of few elites. Such practice is anti democratic. Democracy is not meant to set up established oligarchs who dictate to the people. Democracy is meant to encourage participation of all eligible citizens. What difference does it make from the old ‘so say one, so say all’ system of the True Whig Party that has been repudiated and, the system of block voting whereby few politicians commit an entire tribe, county, region or religion to a single party?
If Liberia’s democracy is to flourish, we must give room to political behaviors and cultural practices that will encourage tolerance, as well as imbue in us the intuition for divergent of political opinions. This will should enhance the principle of one man, one vote. I’m sure others will interpret the one man, one vote literally to mean each person casting their individual ballot. Let’s not missed the point that if people were pressured to vote a candidate only because a group they belong to sees that as a duty of all its members, the vote is pre-rigged. It will have failed to follow the principle of one man, one vote! Placing people under pressure to choose a candidate endorsed by a group that person belongs to can be equated to the group’s leaders remotely marking the voter’s ballot for a choice the voter did not willingly agree.
Important: let’s stop defining unity to mean unison in views and/or our entire community belong to/supporting a single political party. Let avoid labeling those who disagree with our views. The purpose of democracy is the recognition of our varying opinions.
