{"id":35426,"date":"2023-04-27T14:56:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T14:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections"},"modified":"2023-04-27T15:13:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T15:13:10","slug":"first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections","title":{"rendered":"First-time voters in Bong County Eager to make Impact in October Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Tired and sick of economic challenges in the country, many young residents of Liberia\u2019s centrally-located county, Bong County, are determined to collect their voter registration cards ahead of this year\u2019s presidential and legislative elections.<\/p>\n

From the start of Phase Two of the Biometric Voter Registration process last Friday, crowds gathered at various registration centers across the county, and some would-be voters were successful but others were frustrated to be told to come back. \u201cWe need to get things right, and that is why I am taking the time and the stress to get my voter card,\u201d said first-time voter Elijah Gwee, 19, of the Sugar Hill Community in Gbarnga.<\/p>\n

Like Elijah, young voters in the county, most of which were 11-12 years old when President George Weah came to power in 2018, are keen to go to the polls for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe older politicians keep power because the younger generation refuses to rise up, take responsibility, and hold leaders accountable. But things will be different in October,\u201d Mary Flomo, a 19-year-old student at St. Mark\u2019s Lutheran High School in Gbarnga.<\/p>\n

Using social media as a voice, Bong County youths told FrontPageAfrica they have identified poor infrastructure facilities and legislators who have underperformed, a collapsed health system in the country and leadership failure as major problems threatening the future of the average Liberian youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media has provided us with the democracy we have long wanted, and we are increasingly using those platforms alongside traditional offline advocacy strategies to effect the change we see,\u201d Abraham B. Kollie, head of the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY) Bong County Chapter, said in a FrontPageAfrica interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people in Liberia will have the opportunity to decide the next president of Liberia. Whether it will be retaining the current government of President George Weah or electing an opposition remains to be seen\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Although some of the youths in the county agree that resources are thin, many believe poverty and inequality in Liberia are largely due to poor leadership and misappropriation of resources. There is extreme hunger in the country, one youth told FrontPageAfrica.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should be happy, but I\u2019m not happy because the current standard of living is not inspiring,\u201d said Famata Sheriff, a resident of Gbarnga, who plans to vote for the first time.<\/p>\n

Famata said she had hoped at least one of the two major political parties would have candidates she found inspiring. \u201cI\u2019m casting my vote so I can decide my future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picking up her card in Gbartala, Yellequelleh District, first-time voter Quaper Blackie, said the culture in her district is accepting cash from politicians rather than choosing their preferred candidate. But he is determined to have his say this year. \u201cI won\u2019t fall for money,\u201d she said. \u201cI will vote my future because I have understood enough for myself and money won\u2019t change my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participation in Liberian elections is typically low, but political analysts say the country\u2019s economic woes, including rising insecurity, may push more people to vote, especially young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to vote for the best leader because we need to get a good choice,\u201d Barbara Cooper, a student of St. Martin Catholic School, said. \u201cThe standard of living is poor; we don\u2019t earn as much as when the economy is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Tired and sick of economic challenges in the country, many young residents of Liberia\u2019s centrally-located county, Bong County, are determined to collect their voter registration cards ahead of this year\u2019s presidential and legislative elections. From the start of Phase Two of the Biometric Voter Registration process last Friday, crowds gathered at various […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":35425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-35426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst-time voters in Bong County Eager to make Impact in October Elections - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tired and sick of economic challenges in the country, many young residents of Liberia\u2019s centrally-located county, Bong C ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First-time voters in Bong County Eager to make Impact in October Elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tired and sick of economic challenges in the country, many young residents of Liberia\u2019s centrally-located county, Bong C ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-27T14:56:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-27T15:13:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/04\/postQueueImg_1682591236.67.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"First-time voters in Bong County Eager to make Impact in October Elections\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-27T14:56:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-27T15:13:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2023\/04\/postQueueImg_1682591236.67.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/first-time-voters-in-bong-county-eager-to-make-impact-in-october-elections\",\"name\":\"First-time voters in Bong County Eager to make Impact in October Elections - 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