Cheers to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf!

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is to be the first elected female president of an African nation. She won the Liberian election Friday, November 11th with 59.4% of the votes Her opponent George Weah, an ex-soccer star, and his supporters are contesting the election results. Some of his supporters are threatening violence. Johnson-Sirleaf will have quite a conundrum to tackle if she indeed assumes the presidency. By the end of Liberia's 14-year civil war in August 2003, thousands of Liberians were exiled and killed under the hand of former president Charles Taylor. There is currently an 85% unemployment rate for adults in the country and 80% of the population is below the poverty line. Economic growth in this post-war nation has remained laggard.
A Harvard graduate, with work experience from both the World Bank and Citibank, Johnson-Sirleaf has the experience that Weah lacks, although some Liberians view Weah's lack of experience as a plus due to their lack of trust in African politicians. Johnson-Sirleaf is confident in the election results as well as her ability to lead the country. She is quoted as stating to the Associated Press "It's clear that the Liberian people have expressed confidence in me. They have elected me to lead the team that will bring reform to the country and that will deliver development."
I feel Johnson-Sirleaf's victory is a positive step toward equality as well as a step toward peace in this war-torn country, which ultimately is a step towards peace in our world. Every step counts. With all the negative news I have been reading in the headlines this week, I felt the need to post this good news which has been tucked away in the back pages of the newspapers. Tell your friends!

Hear an interview with Johnson-Sirleaf on Talk of the Nation on NPR HERE.


Don't know where Liberia is on the map? Click HERE.





(Photo curtesy of Yahoo! News Photos)