The youthful George Weah and rival presidential candidate and grandmother Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson have made their obvious differences a cornerstone of their campaigns in the race for the November 8 run-offs towards Liberia’s top job.
The 39-year-old soccer millionaire Weah is revered by most of Liberia’s youth who, like their soccer legend, grew up in poverty and have never finished school. King George, as he is popularly known, is a political novice with little experience off the football pitch.
In contrast, 66-year-old Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson’s academic and professional credentials as a Harvard-trained economist and former top United Nations official are the qualities many believe are essential to lead the country after years of upheaval.
But her experience includes a past as an erstwhile supporter of now-exiled former president Charles Taylor. She is also seen by many as the face of a corrupt political elite that reduced the mineral-rich West African country to one of the poorest countries in the world.
About 80% of Liberians are illiterate and unemployed.
Although many look at Weah as a ray of hope for their war-scarred country, nagging questions remain about his capacity to lead a battle-hardened citizenry.
Apart from the crude comparisons between the high-school dropout soccer millionaire and the former economist with the World Bank, there are fears that the presidential poll will be reduced to a choice between a ”native” (Weah) and a descendant of Americo-Liberian ”settlers” (Sirleaf-Johnson).
The country is deeply divided between the descendants of the American freed slaves who have ruled over their indigenous African compatriots between independence in the 19th century and Samuel Doe’s successful coup in 1980.
Sirleaf-Johnson draws most of her support from the Americo-Liberian educated elite.
Weah touts himself as a peacemaker with no bias or allegiance to past political groupings.
But the campaign by Weah’s Congress for Democracy seems to be in a race with Sirleaf-Johnson’s Unity party to canvass votes from former warlords and the 20 defeated presidential candidates.
Ex-warlord Prince Johnson pledged his support to Weah, after behind-the-scenes bartering. Johnson led the militia that murdered former president Doe.
Former UN special envoy for Somalia Winston Tubman has also thrown his weight behind the soccer legend after losing in his presidential bid on October 14.
In another surprising move, Jewel Taylor, wife of exiled former president Charles Taylor and newly elected senator, is backing the campaign of her husband’s erstwhile supporter and now bitter rival Sirleaf-Johnson.
Jewel is under a UN travel ban and has had her assets frozen, and her husband is wanted for war crimes in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Many fear that he continues to wield influence over Liberian politics from his residence in Nigeria.
And as former warlords are betting on whoever they believe will best represent their interests in a post-war Liberia, analysts believe the political inexperienced Weah may be most vulnerable to manipulation by ruthless and seasoned political operators. — Sapa-DPA