Totota, Bong County – Campaigns for Bong County’s July 31 by-election have entered the homestretch, and with some 11 days to the polls, politicians of the centrally located county are currently engaged in last-minute efforts to woo voters.
Report by Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com
Five candidates are slugging it out to replace Liberia’s current Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, whose Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) won last year’s presidential election.
The campaign period officially ends on Friday, July 29, 2018 at 6 p.m., therefore, little time is left for the candidates to try and woo the numbers to their sides.
The last-minute cutthroat campaigns are evident among Josiah Marvin Cole of the CDC, independent candidate Henrique Tokpa and former Budget Analyst of Bong County, Fairnoh Gbilah, of the Vision of Liberia Transformation (VOLT).
The three are currently engaged in whirlwind tours across the county in an effort to win the undecided voters.
On Wednesday, Cole was on a tour of at least four districts, starting with Salala where his main rival Tokpa campaigned last week, getting a rapturous reception. He will also visit Fuamah District in Lower Bong County.
Gbarnga is considered Cole’s stronghold, having voted for him overwhelmingly in the 2017 legislative election but Gbilah and Tokpa have made inroads in the area in recent weeks.
“I want to become Senator because there is only one CDC lawmaker in the county and when I am elected senator, we will bring another CDC person to contest the seat I am currently occupying,” Cole said.
Continuing, he added: “Vote for me so that I can continue with a development agenda. We have an action plan for more jobs to the young people of the county. Your party is your party, don’t allow non-CDC members convince you to not vote for your party,” Cole said on Wednesday during a campaign meeting.
On the other hand, Cole, sources say, tours Suakoko District on Thursday, a place of his nativity, but which pollsters have predicted that would provide a swing vote.
Cole visits the region starting from his backyard in Zeanzue, then moves to Suakoko, Sergeant Kollie Town and Sinyea a day after Tokpa visited the district and presented his platform in bid to woo voters.
On Wednesday, Gbilah and his team were on a campaign tour of the Sanoyea District, visiting several towns and villages as they sold their Lower Bong agenda to citizens.
“July 31 is the day of change, let us keep marching to a better Bong County where there would be justice for the people of Lower Bong County,” said Gbilah at a campaign in Sanoyea.
“This is time that we as citizens of Lower Bong demonstrate our desire for a county status by voting for me. I am the only candidate from Lower Bong. It would be sad if I don’t get the overwhelming support from the people here in Lower Bong,” he said.
On Friday, the candidates would continue with their campaigns in different parts of the county, which will culminate to the final rallies in weeks to come.
While Cole will be launching his campaign on July 29, Tokpa, sources say, will hold his rally in Panta District, with each seeking to show each other who has the numbers.
The aggressive campaigns, according to analysts, are mainly targeting the undecided people as most of the 200,000 voters seemingly made up their minds on who they will vote for.
Opinion polls have forecast a neck-to-neck battle for Cole and Tokpa.
While Cole, lawmaker of Bong’s third district, is keen on avoiding the ignominy of being defeated as a sitting lawmaker, Tokpa is pulling all stops to win in his second attempt.
“This is one of the most tightly contested polls and most expensive in the history of the county. The candidates are pulling all they have to win the polls, especially in these last days, visiting districts in a bid to outdo each other. It is happening in a fashion never seen before,” Papa Morris, correspondent of state radio ELBC told FrontPageAfrica.
Morris noted that the whirlwind campaigns are energy sapping and grueling to the candidates, but they are winning some votes.
“The candidates have campaigned in some districts of the county up to five times and sold their agendas and they are still going there two days to elections. This is to consolidate their votes and play a psychological war on those supporting their opponents by showing them that they have the numbers in those areas therefore they should join them,” said Morris.
He noted though the official campaign period ends July 29,2018 citizens would still be bombarded with campaign messages on social media and radio until hours to elections.
At least three opinion polls have placed Cole’s popularity at between 48 percent and 49 percent while Tokpa’s at 45 percent and 46 percent.
