Liberia campaigns for presidential run-off ends

Official campaign for the 2011 run- off presidential election in Liberia scheduled for Tuesday ends mid-night Sunday, according to the National Election Commission guideline. The election takes place despite boycott by main opposition party Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) leaded Winston Tubman. Tubman was recently summoned to the Nigerian Federal Capital, Abuja by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to convince him to take part in the run-off following his party's boycott threats. The ruling party, UP and the CDC were winners and runners-up in the first round of voting and were scheduled to contest for the presidency in a run-off on Nov. 8, 2011. Despite the resignation of the former chairman of National Electoral Commission (NEC), James Fromayan, the commission said the election process will go ahead as all election materials and staffs have been deployed throughout the country. Meanwhile, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Sunday went on the rampage from District to Districts in Monrovia in a last ditch to encourage her compatriots to go to the poll on Tuesday and cast their ballots. At a campaign closing ceremonies in Districts 14, 15 and 17, the Liberian leader said Tuesday's election is not about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, but the greater interest of Liberia struggling to cope with the challenges of national reconstruction. The Liberia leader said she is determined for the election processes to reach its conclusion as a boost to democracy in Liberia despite the CDC's boycott. In a related development, some reports say the CDC will hold what the party calls peaceful demonstration. But many are worried about such a move since peaceful demonstration have turned violent in the country in the 1979 including the rice riot that claimed the lives of over one hundred people.