Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first woman president, has announced she will run for re-election next year, despite previously promising to serve only one term.
“I now announce to you, and to the thousands of supporters in radio land and abroad, that I will be a candidate,” she said during her annual address to Parliament on Monday, which received sharp criticism from opposition parties.
Government spokesperson Cyrus Badio told state radio on Tuesday that Johnson-Sirleaf’s decision was due to her successes as president, after her election in 2005 in the wake of a brutal civil war.
“The president has decided to go for a second round because of the numerous successes she has realised over the years in power. She has significantly changed the lives of Liberians,” said Badio.
Her candidature comes despite a report by Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission naming her among 50 people who it recommended be banned from holding public office for 30 years for supporting warring factions during the civil war. — Sapa-AFP