Claudia McElroy in Monrovia
MONROVIA’S shantytown of Westport, one of the poorest and most congested areas in Liberia’s capital, has suddenly become the scene of some excitement.
Braving monsoon rains, bemused residents throng the narrow streets to witness the unusual spectacle of a 14-car motorcade in which presidential candidate Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf and her entourage are touring the city.
The 58-year-old former financier and United Nations technocrat, who recently returned to Liberia after an 11-year absence, receives a mixed reception. A handful applauds her, but others jeer. They include former militia loyal to various warring factions.
Charles Taylor, the warlord-turned- politician who started the civil war in 1989, remains a strong candidate.
Although 16 political parties have officially started campaigning for the July 19 elections, most observers agree the race will be between Taylor’s National Patriotic Party and Johnson-Sirleaf’s United Party.
“I came back to Liberia to provide people with a better alternative to those hellbent on destroying the country,” says Johnson- Sirleaf, who was jailed twice for criticising former president Samuel Doe before fleeing to the United States in 1986.
To some, however, her record is tainted by her support of Taylor in his 1990 campaign to oust Doe, which escalated into a civil war that killed an estimated 250 000 people.
Yet despite Taylor’s reputation for ruthlessness, he appears to have a head start in winning the hearts and minds of a largely illiterate population. With control of two radio stations and three newspapers, and enough money to shower potential voters with food and cash, he runs a formidable propaganda machine.
But many doubt the elections will take place on July 19, the date agreed by West African leaders, led by Nigeria. The independent electoral commission insists they can go ahead, but the task of registering up to 850 000 voters, appointing electoral officers, carrying out voter education and conducting the polling will be a mammoth one in the short time available.
Some are gloomy about the prospects for stability, particularly as only half the 60 000 or so militiamen have been disarmed.
“I am very worried about the future,” a human rights activist says. “If Taylor loses, there is bound to be a violent backlash … If he wins, he will rule Liberia with an iron fist.”