Some supporters were disappointed in the long wait, so they returned to their homes before the late arrival of Cllr. Varmah
Gbarpolu County – Supporters of a representative candidate in Gbarpolu County on Monday, August 14 spent several hours beyond scheduled time awaiting his arrival to start a political rally.
When he arrived hours later due to deplorable road conditions in the county, some supporters had already left in disappointment.
“Cllr. Varmah we want to say thank you for turning the story of sorry to togetherness and friendship for us today if you were not going to come today, it means that you finished. Your people want you to take road as number one thing if elected and that is the message we want you to carry out for this campaign.” – Malikie Sonnie, supporters’ spokesperson.
Cllr. Bonor M. Varmah, the Unity Party candidate for electoral district one, was expected in Bopolu City, the county’s capital, more than five hours before his arrival.
“Right now, I am discouraged, somebody called you and you spent the whole day, you don’t see the person, you will feel bad,” said Mary Sackie, who had waited since the early morning hours.
“And if he keeps doing this, people will not trust him and he will lose votes. So for me, I don’t want to go back, I want to sleep here until I see him.”
Nyala Dukuly, who traveled from Medina town – a 15-minute drive away from Bopolu City, said she was disappointed with the long wait.
“We are just waiting for the man, and the man does not to want to come so I am going back because my children do not have food. When he comes I will come tomorrow,” she said.
By 5:00 pm, the crowd had reduced after several failed phone calls to Cllr. Varmah leaving some supporters to angrily label him as “a deceitful politician” and “a don’t care man”.
But some of them were still committed to waiting despite the long delays.
“I still have hope; I am sure that we going to have the program. We are waiting for him to come and tell us why he making us get a bad feeling about him,” a teacher from Farwen town only identified himself as David told LocalVoicesLiberia.
When Cllr. Varmah finally arrived at 5:30 pm supporters erupted into cheers and celebrations that lasted until the next morning.Following a street parade the next day (Tuesday), the UP representative aspirant regained the support of the crowd and told them the bad road condition had stalled his arrival.
Following a street parade the next day (Tuesday), the UP representative aspirant regained the support of the crowd and told them the bad road condition had stalled his arrival.
“Let me say thanks for holding the grounds and keeping the hope alive. This is just the beginning of the fight for the seat of Gbarpolu district one,” Cllr Varmah said.
He then promised to make roads his “number one priority” when elected as a lawmaker of the county.
“We will put road seriously in our development agenda, and in addition to roads, I will also prioritize women and youth empowerment, support for farmers and security in our country,” he said.
Urging his supporters to stay together as political campaigns continue across the county “because the election will be won through votes”, he promised to make “good laws” that will have positive impacts on the lives of people in the county.
His supporters, who had come to hear his platform, already conceived that “good road network would improve commercial activities, ensure emergency health care services and access to basic human needs, and enhance the livelihood of people in rural communities”.
“Cllr. Varmah, we want to say thank you for turning the story of sorry to togetherness and friendship for us today. If you were not going to come today, it means that you’re finished,” said Malikie Sonnie, who spoke on behalf of the supporters.
“Your people want you to take roads as number one thing if elected and that is the message we want you to carry out for this campaign”, she stressed.
Alpha Daffae Senkpeni is a multi-media journalist and fact checker with over 18 years’ experience. Senkpeni is the Director and Senior Editor of Local Voices Liberia (LVL) – a network that operates Liberia’s major independent fact checking desk. LVL has implemented several media development projects funded by USAID and the European Union. Since 2021, he has led the organization’s implementation of fact checking projects including fact checking workshops for journalists, media literacy programs, and community forums – all geared toward countering disinformation and expanding the culture of fact checking.
Senkpeni holds a law degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law and a BSc in Mass Communications from the University of Liberia. He’s also an alumnus of the Radio Netherlands Training Center (RNTC) with a certificate in Digital Content to Counter Disinformation. He has also attended several fact checking trainings.
