As Liberia prepared to go to the polls on October 10 in the legislative and presidential elections on October 10, many observers were arguing that first time voters will have a big say in the outcome of the country’s fourth successive presidential election since the second phase of the civil crisis ended in 2023.
In the 2017 elections that brought President George Weah to office, young people made up an important percentage of the registered voters at the time. It’s been six years. This means, a new category of first time-voters will now exercise their political franchise for the first time this year.
There is no official statistics from the National Elections Commission on first time voters. But the NEC has announced that there are 2,471,617 eligible voters for the 2023 elections.
Now, the question that lingers in the minds of many Liberians and foreign observers is, what are the issues with first time voters?
Voting for their Future
“I am voting for someone to bring about development and to maintain the peace of Liberia. “I want to grow up peacefully and live freely as I like,’’ explains 18-year-old Yonah Johnson, an 11th-grader of Monrovia College.
Johnson’s classmate, Abraham Sawah,18, says “development and peace” are the driving forces behind his decision to vote for the first time.
“Our vote is our future,” he said, warning against the allure of money in exchange for votes, for that would be trading away his very future.
“I am voting to see that there is account for the innocent lives that are taken away with no justice. I want us grow in a safe environment where we feel secure. Our vote is our future and this is why I am voting,” he added.
Benita H. Sheriff, 19, is another young student from Monrovia College. She shares her aspirations for a brighter Liberia, underscoring the importance of making wise choices and the fundamental role of peace in this pursuit.
“I want the leader I am electing to develop Liberia in terms of roads, schools, hospitals,” Benita says. “I also asked my friends to be careful with how they treat people that don’t have the same choice as them, because our peace is more important”.
Victoria M. Geddeh, 23, is a mass communication student at the United Methodist University who sees her vote as a “voice for change”.
“I’m voting for the betterment of my country,” she said, focusing on educational improvements and governance that puts citizens first. “I’m voting because I want to see a change in my country as it relates to development in the education sector’’.
Victoria urges fellow first-time voters to resist manipulation and vote with an eye on Liberia’s future.
“I’m encouraging the first-time voters Not to vote for what they have now, what is available now. Maybe someone is giving them something(money), but they should vote for the future of Liberia. Let’s vote for our future,” she said.
Away from Monrovia, First-Time Voters are Spirited
Away from Monrovia, other first-time voters are also in high spirit. In 2017, Fedrick J.K Williams was 16 years old. He’s now a resident of Harper, Maryland County. He’s 20 and ready to vote for the first time. He argues that the purpose is to see better education and more jobs for the youth
Williams is optimistic that his one vote can bring about “tangible improvements”. “I see that the education system is poor and there too are less jobs for my parents and other people,” he said.
“This is why I am voting for the rightful person, who will rule well and develop the country and my county by creating jobs and improving our schools and the education sector”.
Samuel T.S. Bedell, 20, is also a first-time voter. He lives in Pleebo, Maryland County. He too is voting for more jobs, peace, and development.
“I’m voting because I need a lot of development in this county. If I elect the president I want to vote for (so), development can come to the county,” he said. “If I elect them, they’ll provide many jobs for the citizens, and they can protect our peace and stability”.
‘Trend of First-Time Voters Have Not Changed’
Oscar Bloh, Chairperson for the Election Coordinating Committee (ECC), lends insights into his experience with first time voters from 2017 elections. He asserts that the trend of first-time voters has not changed from 2017, adding that first -time voters are “very eager to participate in the electoral process”.
“First time voters ask a lot of questions, and this hasn’t changed. But, at the same time, we’ve observed particularly that this election, first time voters are under severe peer pressure,” he said.
“They see these political rallies as a form of social platform to interact, get resources, and to go see the happenings.”
He warns of the influence of peer pressure and manipulation but also emphasize the transformative power of civic education.
“That’s why civic education for these first-time voters is very critical to help them make informed decisions, because once you turn 18 or 19, you have six years of your life to be Governed by political leader you will elect.”
Civic Education for First-Time Voters
Meanwhile, as first-time voters go to the poll, there are concerns about election violence and the role they could play. But the ECC Chairman says first time voters don’t initiate election violence. The violence is initiated by politicians but because of their vulnerability as first-time voters they’re exploited, he said.
To thwart any possible issue, Mr. Bloh calls for more civic voter education for these new voters amid concerns that much has not be done.
“I don’t think we’ve done enough as a country to help promote peace messages targeting first time voters. But we have two more days to go. So, it is the responsibility of civil society organizations and the media in the next two days to help and encourage first time voters to mitigate the influence of their peers and political actors due to other forms of inducement,” he said.
Using Young People for ‘Peaceful Elections’ Campaign
Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa is working with young people to increase awareness around the threat of election violence. A campaign tagged “towards a peaceful 2023 election” is geared towards spreading messages of peace during the election emphasizing that Peace is not the absence of war.
“We’re telling everyone that you have the right to participate in the election, but Liberia should be peaceful,” says Mr. David Sheik Konneh, the Program Manager of the Gbowee Peace Foundation
Mr. Konneh says “young people got energy and they can be easily used to perpetrate violence” therefore, the campaign has also targeted them.
“They need to know that the people they elect to power are their workers; they should be able to have the knowledge that they’re the politicians’ employers, in order to hold their leaders accountable,” he said. “This is why during this campaign we’re encouraging first time voters to make informed decisions”.