By Mark N. Mengonfia
President George M. Weah keeps raising Liberia’s democracy bar high to the point that those after him might fight to reach his standards.
This is so because the outgoing President who served for one term and is expected to turn over power in January is now creating awareness to peacefully transition. The President who attended ECOWAS’s Sixty-fourth (64th) Ordinary Summit extended an open invitation to members of that regional body to attend the inauguration of his soon-to-be predecessor, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai.
Incumbent Weah, who conceded to incoming President Joseph N. Boakai following the presidential runoff election in Liberia, acknowledged that the just ended Summit was his last in his capacity as President of Liberia.
“As a mark of friendship and solidarity, I would therefore like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to grant us the honor of attending the Inauguration Ceremonies on January 22, 2024, to witness my handing over of power to His Excellency President-Elect, Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr,” Liberia’s outgoing President, Weah told ECOWAS leaders.
President Weah fervently hoped that the smooth transition of power in Liberia will resonate throughout ECOWAS region.
He said, “I also call on your excellences to extend to my successor, His Excellency President-Elect, Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., the same high level of support that I have been fortunate to receive from you during my tenure as President of Liberia.”
All these are happening at the time militaries are taking over democratically-elected governments and governments are rigging elections in Africa mostly the West African basin. But President Weah upheld the decision of the people of Liberia as a means of respecting the Farmington Declaration signed by political leaders prior to the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections. Political leaders in Liberia signed a peace par early this year to uphold Liberia’s 20 years of uninterrupted peace since the end of civil unrest.
“The Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voices,” he told his colleagues at the ECOWAS Submit in Abuja, Nigeria. President Weah said, “As is often said, and I quote, “The Voice of the People, is the Voice of God.”
According to him, his party may have lost the elections, but the true victors, the true winners, are the people of Liberia, who have made their leadership choices of their own free will. To demonstrate his willingness for peace, President Weah conceded defeat to his main rival, opposition politician, Joseph Boakai before the final results of the presidential runoff was announced by the electoral body.
Since the elections, President George Weah has received commendations from world leaders including the United States, China and other countries in the Africa.
Weah is the second Liberian President to concede defeat to his opponent in nearly 146 years according to political researchers. His move has consolidated Liberia’s hard-won peace and a testimony that the country is well on par as a democratic nation.
Since the end of the civil conflict in 2003, Liberians continue to maintain the peace as the country continues on the right trajectory thus, winning international respect. The recent decision by President Weah to concede defeat to his political rival is a resounding victory to the gains Liberia continues to make in maintaining the peace since the end of the civil war.
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