Liberia's Presidential Election Set to Move Forward

Winston Tubman has agreed not to boycott the November 8th presidential election in Liberia now that the head of the National Election Committee, James Fromayan, has resigned. Tubman called for Fromayan's resignation over allegations of fraud in the first round of the elections, and though Fromayan still maintains there was no fraud, he is stepping down for the greater goal of peace. Here is a BBC article about the issue. Good, good news for Liberia.

As I continue to talk to people in Liberia, there is a sense of everyone holding their breath. It's hard to know on any day what might happen to turn the tide from peace to chaos or back again. For example, there was a letter mistakenly issued by one official last week that Winston's party actually won the greater number of votes in the first round. This doesn't make headlines in the US, but in Liberia it was a big deal and is still being talked about. When something like that happens, it's hard to convince people that there was no truth in it...that it was just a mistake.

We also don't hear a lot about how it is affecting people's every day lives in Liberia as they wait for the run off. The basic necessities like food and gas are very expensive. Fear does crazy things to an economy, particularly one that is already unstable. Some people have decided to keep their kids home from school. Memories of having to flee at a moment's notice and getting separated from family members have not grown dim for many. Still, overall, I hear hope. There is a strong hope that this time will be different, that this time, people will keep their heads about them and wait for peace to continue. Fromayan stepping down from the election commission is one example of this.