He said Liberia should understand that "these are not normal times for the country." True to his words, times are very very rough there in Liberia reminding me of a song by a local Liberian artist that says "Time so hard, time so hard, everybody going crazy".

 There is a Liberian adage that says the oldma teeth already rotten, then you knock her mouth. This means that Charles Taylor was already looking for means to remain in power indefinitely and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) carried war to Liberia thereby justifying his recent draconian decrees or Executive Orders. LURD activities have increased over the past weeks and there is no end in sight. ECOWAS has call for a ceasefire and the Liberian government has rejected such call. LURD insists that President must resign as a precondition for peace in Liberia. Taylor dismisses such demand as craziness because he has the constitutional mandate until October,2003. There is  now a new war front opened in the eastern corridor of Grand Gedeh County where unknown gunmen attacked Liberia from Ivory Coast. This means that there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Liberia as these belligerent groups would continue to make war leaving the country in ruins.

 I agree with Mr. Charles Taylor 100 % in dismissing LURD demands because Liberians put him there in 1997 and we should wait until October,2003 or whenever it is feasible for elections due to the present status quo to give his verdict whether he passed or failed the mandate given him as President of Liberia. I differ strongly with people who say that the 1997 elections were not free and fair. It is mere shame and to save face in the outside world that the losers refused to accept the results. The head of the Elections Commission, the late G. Henry Andrews was highly respectable and honourable citizen who wouldnt have cheated for Taylor so glaringly. Moreover, the international community and the Carter Center rendered the elections free and fair. We admit there were some irregularities at few polling stations around the country, but such abuses were not alarming to warrant the elections as being unacceptable.

Liberians at the time believed that Taylor could be a good person to take us from War to Peace since he initiated the war. The result for such choice today include UN sanctions, a third of the population being internally displaced and refugees all over the world, no basic utilities (Electricity and water), unpaid civil servants, civil war, poverty, disease, human rights violations, and the list goes on....

How can anyone in their clear mind even dream of having elections when the basic ingredients for a free and fair democratic elections are not in placed? There are many questions that come to mind when I hear people dreaming of elections in 2003 in Liberia. Where would the elections be held? Will electioneering take place in the troubled counties of Lofa, Gbarpolu, Bomi and Grand Cape Mount Counties? Which laws would apply to the forthcoming elections? Is it the 1985 or 1997 election laws? Is there proper security for opposition parties to canvass for votes throughout the country? Is there access to the print and electronic media? How are new constituencies to be demarcated in the new counties? Where in the Capitol Building will the new Senators and representative use as offices? Nowadays, the present configuration dont have their own office space. What has been done to tackle the constitutional provision that bans potential candidates who has not lived in Liberia for 10 years?

Politicians and Liberians in general should forget about the 2003 elections because there is no framework currently underway to carry out a free and fair democratic election. The has been no Census, no Paramount and Chieftaincy elections since the special elections of 1997, and no Mayoral election even for the city of Monrovia just to name a few of the compound complex problems that Liberia is currently plagued with. 

We should now keep petitioning the United Nations to help us conduct a free and credible election. Seek international support for said elections and press the LURD rebels to put down their arms and let the people of the war affected counties express their franchise as the country Liberia belong to all of us. Lets make sure that the International Contact Group (ICG) on Liberia get more involved in the election process so as to keep it transparent for the common good of the country as signals now coming from the ICG members shows that they dont favour the process being held under the present terrible conditions and abuses in Liberia.

 I strongly am of the conviction that credible elections will only be held when a level playing field is created. We have waited six years for election day to come so we can correct our errors of the past and we should bear little more patience such that we know it is feasible to carry out electioneering because if the political parties agree to hold elections with a partitioned country, there will be many contentions when the results are released and the same noise and backwardness will continue for Liberia and its people. The Liberian people should begin to wake up and protest against the holding of elections under the present state of affairs because anything to the contrary will spell doom for the country. If something cant be done in the proper way for credibility and reliability, then it shouldnt be done haphazardly at all.

God bless Liberia