There seems to be growing interest in the people of Bong County to elect Representative Edward Karfiah as senator of the county in 2023 general and presidential election, the Hot Pepper has learned. A survey conducted in the lower belt of the county shows overwhelming support for the young politician, who has suddenly emerged as a dominant figure in Bong politics.
A cross section of residents of the county said, despite his young age, Edward karfiah has been tested and proved to be one of Bong County’s most trusted politicians of all times.
Representative Karfiah’s political strength lies mainly in the support of the county’s progressive youths, who want to see their kind in the Liberian Senate, but traditional leaders and women groups are becoming even more fascinating to Karfiah’s dream of becoming Bong County’s senator in 2023.
“A child who washes his hands dines with kings,” John Flomo, an influential Kpelle elder, told the Hot Pepper reporter in Salala, lower Bong County. Flomo described the aspirant as a young man who has gained reputation for obeying and showing respect to the county traditional leaders and elders.
Flomo said the lawmaker has the desire to make Bong County regains its lost image as the cradle of Liberian tradition and culture. He said Bong County holds Representative Karfiah in high esteem for paving the way for the return of the people of the county to their culture and tradition, which is being undermined by western influence.
“He has great respect for our way of life,” said another elder, who sat next to Flomo at the crowded attaye center in central Salala, where a group of Bong citizens had gathered to debate the political future of their county. Thomas Sackie, a resident of Salala and one of the county’s influential stakeholders, underscored that the likes of Edward Karfiah are needed in the Senate to make laws that will protect the indigenous people and their ways of life.
In cities like Totota and Sanoyea, where Representative Karfiah’s political support is based, the enthusiasm to elect the young aspirant to the house of elders is even more resounding. The name Karfiah seems to be a subject of discussion in almost every gathering where people meet to share opinion on the county’s political future.
The trust built in the People Unification Party (PUP) Representative, and the growing desire for a change in the county’s leadership is making it easier for Karfiah to find his way to the Senate. “It is time we turn Bong over to another expert to continue the process of healing from the wounds of our recent past”, Bong County University student, Patrick Kollie, raised the point at a heated intellectual debate in Totota recently.
Kollie, an influential student leader, said Edward Karfiah, who has devoted all his time to the wellbeing of the county, is the only solution to the region’s old-aged problem. He said Bong County voters who have followed the track record of the lawmaker for the last ten years in office are convinced that his election at this crucial moment in the nation’s political history is the best thing to do to save Bong County from degenerating into chaos.
Another student leader, whose name was not disclosed for personal reason, said Karfiah’s main challenger, Senator Henry Yallah, should back off in 2023, as his political relevance in the county is scaling down.
However, when contacted by this paper, a well-known Bong political analyst said Karfiah’s growing popularity in the county can only survive if some influential stakeholders, such as Senator Prince Moye, agree to play a neutral role in 2023 senatorial election. He said the Bong senator will pose as a major challenge to the aspirant if he chooses to put a candidate against him in upper Bong.
Meanwhile, Representative Edward Karfiah’s political party, PUP, says it welcomes the decision by the people to back the party members’ senatorial ambition. Party Chairman, Representative Samuel Kogar, said the People Unification Party (PUP) is committed to negotiating in whatever way possible in making Karfiah’s dream comes true.
Representative Kogar also said the growing support of PUP aspirant signifies the beginning of the party’s extension into some of the most populated counties in country.