Norway has voted, but outcome is in doubt

With thanks to Adam Kaplan at Sister Cities International, here is the best I’ve seen on the political situation in Liberia:  “Feted on the international stage, but accused of hollow promises at home,” from The Independent.  It is a sad commentary on the American press that until yesterday it had produced nothing comparable, even in anticipation of tomorrow’s elections.  And they wonder why so many of us are turning to Twitter and the web for our news?

On the economic side, the IMF has put up two progress reports on Liberia’s poverty reduction strategy, one that covers April 2008-March 2009 and a second that covers April 2009-March 2010.  The message from both is good progress, accelerating.  That’s the message from the latest UN Security Council resolution as well, even if it saw fit to err on the side of caution and extend UNMIL to September 2012.

PBS Newhour did come to the rescue of American media’s honor with a piece on the elections last Tuesday evening:

But this is also blatantly pro-Johnson Sirleaf and mentions only one of her several competitors.  And why can’t they adjust their cameras so that black peoples’ faces can be seen better? Gwen Ifill would also benefit.

All the international approbation for Johnson Sirleaf does not guarantee her a victory in Tuesday’s election or the November 8 runoff (if no one gets 50% in the first round, which seems likely with 16 candidates). She is compromised by an early gesture of support for Charles Taylor and other complicated legal issues ably discussed by Colin Waugh, as well as the perception that she has done little about corruption in the Liberian government.  But I confess it is a sign of progress that Liberians are worrying about corruption rather than about political violence.

There will be time enough to discuss Johnson Sirleaf’s main challenger if there is a second round of the elections.  This first round is a kind of referendum on her first term.  Her chances will improve if she comes out a strong first, the electoral mechanism operates reasonably well and election day is peaceful.

The Nobel Prize is not likely to hurt her prospects.