Chairman of the Community Parliament’s Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr. has set the records straight and insisted that ECOWAS does not monitor elections in the sub-region but observes the process.
This follows Liberia’s preparations towards its Presidential and Legislative general elections.
At a public forum at Gbab in Bomi County which brought together, mostly youth, women and men, a question was posed blaming ECOWAS for passing a clean sheet on the election process in the sub-region but the EU among others in their report doing otherwise.
“You see, some of the mistakes some of us make ECOWAS does not take part in domestic elections. When ECOWAS says it is free and fair what they do is to observe the process; we should get it clear”, he pointed out.
“Again, for example, you are here in Bomi and observe the elections nothing happens; but after you left someone slap someone what will you report? Some people are saying ECOWAS cheats; “no they observe the elections; some people call ECOWAS toothless bulldog, no”.
Chairman Snowe Jr. further explained to the forum that the current state of Liberia is a result of ECOWAS, and that demystifies the notion held by some people that ECOWAS is useless. “As we were killing ourselves in this country before the Americans came, it was ECOWAS that came in to intervene.”
And emphasized that, ECOWAS has contributed its part and played its role; adding that when people were cutting peoples’ hands in Sierra Leone, it was ECOWAS that stepped in with ECOMOG. Today ECOWAS has troops in Gambia and Guinea Bissau; they are trying, he stated.
While addressing the forum, he urged the constituents to embrace political tolerance since the whole political contest is a contest of ideas.
Addressing a question on the bad nature of the roads in Bomi County, Chairman Snowe Jr. accepted that the roads are not in good condition and he is throwing his weight behind candidate George Weah who is seeking a second term, and has promised that Bomi roads will be given a priority in his second term. He thus urged the gathering to support President Weah for his second term bid.
COUPS AND ATTEMPTED COUPS
Another question he had to address was the erratic coups and attempted coups in the sub-region where he pointed out that coups should be condemned and it’s a shame; stating that the problem is not just the military rather there is the need to focus on addressing problems that lead to coups.
He asserts that there seems to be one generic problem with coups stating that all successful coups in the region come from French colonies. These countries want independence from France because, till today, they still pay rent to the French Government for their presidential palace.
Their reserves are in France not in their country; the exchange rate is determined by France; the cultural heritage everything is subject to the will of the French government, hence the coups are more of revolutions.
BOMI POLITICS
In the current Bomi politics, Chairman Snowe Jr. noted that one cannot perform badly and hide behind the popularity of President Weah to become a Senator. A presidential election is different from the Legislative elections; everybody will account for his or her stewardship.
And if the people who elected him as an independent candidate do not believe in a candidate, he will not support that fellow. “Bomi, nobody should think they will hide behind the popularity of anyone and get elected; you will be elected on your own merit”, he added.
President George Weah is my friend but I am not a member of the CDC, I am an independent but I support George Weah; but it does not mean if you want to do the wrong thing in Bomi he will support you.
According to him, he had a meeting with his coordinators and whoever they ask him to support he will.
Source: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso