There seem to be growing interest in the people of Bong County to elect Representative Edward Karfiah Senator in the 2023 general and presidential election, this paper 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 factor 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 most trusted politicians of our time”.
Representative Karfiah’s political strength lies mainly in the support of the county’s progressive youths who want their kin in the Senate, but traditional leaders and women group are becoming even more fascinated by Karfiah’s dream of becoming Bong’s senator in 2023.
“A child who washes his hands will dine with kings,” an influential Kpelle elder told the Hot Pepper’s reporter in Salala, lower Bong County. John Flomo described the aspirant as a young man who has gained reputation for obeying and showing respect to the county’s traditional leaders and elders.
Flomo said the law maker has the desire to help 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 for the people of the county to return 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 crowed 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 key stakeholders, emphasized further that aspirants like Edward Karfiah are needed in the Senate to make laws that will protect the indigenous people and their way of life.
In cities like Totota and Sanoyea, where Karfiah’s political support is based, the enthusiasm to elect the young aspirant to the Senate 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 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, stated, raising the point at a heated intellectual debate in Totota recently.
Kollie, an influential student leader, said Edward Karfiah who has devoted all of his time on the well-being of the county, is the only solution to its old aged problem. He said Bong voters who have followed the track record of the lawmaker for the last ten (10) years in office are convinced that Karfiah’s election at this crucial moment in the nation’s political history is the best thing to do to save Bong 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’s process, 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’s senatorial election. He said the Bong senator will pose 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, the 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 negotiation in whatever way possible in making Karfiah’s dream come true.
Representative Kogar also said the growing support to PUP aspirant signifies the beginning of the party’s extension into some of the most populated counties in the country.