— 2023 Female Rep. Candidate Tells IWMF Fellow
Article by: Florence B. Flomo- IWMF Fellow
For years now, Liberian women have strived for political recognition. The arrival of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the Presidency in 2006 signaled that Liberian women were about to take a major position on the political scene in the country.
During the Presidency of Madam Sirleaf, many women got top Ministerial appointments and outgoing President George Weah also provided the space for women to show what they have.
But it is their quest for an elected position that seems to be more difficult, most especially at the parliamentarian level.
And even when some are lucky to get there many often appear to be ordinary lawmakers with their male counterparts holding the most senior position. Before just ended elections, there were 10 female lawmakers, and out of 160 females who contested, only seven won, six as representatives and one as Senator.
The result indicates a decline in the number of women representation in the Legislature.
Lucia Gbaindeh contested for the representative seat of District Two Bong County but lost. Speaking in an interview at her residence Madam Gbaindeh who was the lone female candidate in district two outlined some challenges she faced during the process.
Madam Gbaindeh said lack of the finance was a key reason why she could not make it to the Legislature. “these days politics is all about money, you may live here with the people who you work honestly for them, but when you don’t have money to share during the campaign you not going to win” she said.
According to her, money was playing a key role in influencing people’s decisions something she thinks can be attributed to the economic hardship in the country.
Madam Gbaindeh explained that though she was not physically abused, she was psychologically abused by supporters of other candidates. According to her, on many occasions, she was accused by opponents of joining the race to seek money from donors but had nothing to offer the district. Madam Gbaideh narrated that those comments played on her mind but noted that she didn’t allow them to defeat her purpose.
She also mentioned that the failure of many women to get the election position in the country contributed to the failure of her gender support to each other.
Madam Gbainden mentioned that even though women complain about bad leadership from their male counterparts, they often choose to support them over their fellow women who advocate for them during elections.
She said as a person born and raised in the district, a lot of her fellow women who personally know her refused to elect her even though she was the only female candidate in the race.
Madam Gbaindeh indicated that her defeat will not deter her from seeking political office in Liberia noting that she will engage in the 2029 elections sooner to win the heart of the people of District Two, Bong County.
This story is sponsored by the International Women’s Media Foundation in partnership with the National Democratic Institute of Liberia.
