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Liberian to Be First Female African Leader

By TODD PITMAN
Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 2 minutes ago

A former finance minister and Harvard graduate claimed
victory Thursday in Liberia's presidential election, a
win that, if certified, would make her the first
elected female leader ever in Africa.

With just over 90 percent of the ballots counted,
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had 59 percent of the vote and
former international soccer star George Weah nearly 41
percent, the National Elections Commission said.

"It's clear that the Liberian people have expressed
confidence in me," Johnson-Sirleaf told The Associated
Press. "They have elected me to lead the team that
will bring reform to the country and that will deliver
development."

She added that she would lead "a government of
inclusion" and said she would offer Weah a post in
government — perhaps the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

"We hope that Mr. Weah will get over his
disappointment that has led to his rejecting the
results, and that ultimately he'll accept it and we'll
find a way forward together," she said.

Weah's camp gave no immediate word on whether he was
conceding defeat in the vote — Liberia's first since
the end of a 1989-2003 civil war and subsequent
formation of a transitional government.

Earlier, officials called for calm amid Weah's
accusations that poll workers stuffed ballot boxes in
Johnson-Sirleaf's favor, charges her campaign denied.

On Thursday, Weah met with Alan Doss, who heads the
15,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia,
and said he would press his formal complaint with the
Elections Commission.

"We are seeking the advice of the international
community and all the people that are involved to see
if everybody can arrest this situation," Weah said.
"While we are preparing ourselves for the legal side,
we are also asking our people to be very calm."

Weah's supporters include many former warlords, rebel
leaders and young men who fought in Liberia's 14-year
civil war that killed up to 200,000 people and plunged
the country's 3 million residents into abject poverty.

While international observers who monitored the poll
said preliminary findings indicated it was fair, Doss
said the fraud allegations were being taken seriously.

"Any allegation of any fraud is serious and we don't
want allegations of fraud to mar the election," he
said.

Johnson-Sirleaf's campaign vigorously denied the
charges.

"It's all lies," said Jemima Caulcrick, a top official
of Johnson-Sirleaf's Unity Party. "They just don't
want a woman to be president in Africa. But she shall
be."

Max van den Berg, head of a 50-member European Union
observer mission, said the vote was "well-administered
in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner."

David Carroll, leading a 28-person team from the
Atlanta-based Carter Center, said that while "minor
irregularities" had been noted, "none of our observers
saw any serious problems."

Observers from the Economic Community of West African
States, which played a key role brokering peace in
Liberia, also deemed the vote fair.

Across the country's bombed-out capital, large groups
of excited Liberians stood on crumbling street
corners, listening to results as they were announced
on radio. Some argued with each other, shaking fingers
and shouting.

The winner will have to govern a country left in ruins
by war, its buildings smashed and nearly one-third of
its people in relief camps.

Johnson-Sirleaf, 67, has a master's degree in public
administration from Harvard University and has held
top regional jobs at the World Bank, the United
Nations and within the Liberian government. Her
supporters call her the "Iron Lady," borrowing the
nickname of former British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher.

In elections in 1997, Johnson-Sirleaf ran second to
warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, who many
claimed was voted into power by a fearful electorate.
Taylor was forced from power two years ago and lives
in exile in Nigeria.

Weah's ascent from Monrovia's slums to international
soccer stardom had earned him much support in a
dirt-poor country short on heroes. The 39-year-old is
a high school dropout with no experience in
government, but that is seen as a plus by many in a
country long-ruled by coup leaders and warlords.

Founded by freed American slaves in the mid-1800s,
Liberia was once among Africa's most prosperous
countries, rich in diamonds, ancient forests and
rubber. Years of war ended in 2003 when Taylor was
forced to step down as advancing rebels shelled the
capital.

Elected women in high office are rare across Africa.
Earlier this year, women were appointed deputy
president of South Africa and prime minister of
Mozambique. Liberia briefly had an unelected woman
president, Ruth Perry, in the mid-1990s.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Paye-Layleh
contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AP News
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed without the prior written authority of
The Associated Press.



Aggo Akyea
http://www.tribalpages.com/tribes/akyea

"Instead of studying how to make it worth men's while to buy my baskets,
I studied rather how to avoid the necessity of selling them."
WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau – 1854

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