Female aspirants in Liberia's 2017 elections get Sirleaf's backing to win polls

Liberia’s outgoing president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has pledged to fully support and campaign for all the female aspirants in the October 10 general elections.

At a forum to promote Liberian women in politics, Sirleaf expressed regret at the uneven distribution of women aspiring for legislative seats, citing a district where seven women are vying for one seat.

“You people are many. I wish we had done it in such a way where we could have taken note of each of those running against each other and had been a little bit more selective in narrowing it down to compete with men,” she said at the forum.

She advised the aspirants to focus on the people and not personal gains despite their party differences, local media The New Dawn reported.

The forum was organised by the Liberia Women’s Policy Platform (LWPP) to bridge the gap between women and men in Liberia’s politics.

Liberia’s parliament has three women in the senate and nine in the House of Representatives.

152 women are vying to be in parliament while one is standing for president and six as vice presidential candidates, New Dawn reports.

Macdella Cooper is the only woman vying for the presidency under the newly formed Liberia Restoration Party (LRP) which was certified by the country’s electoral commission.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is the only democratically elected female head of state in Africa, will end her two-term in office this year.