Tubman's Last Act

Winston Tubman has withdrawn from the race for the Liberian presidency. The National Elections Commission says the vote will take place anyway. Several hundred people spread across the huge lawn in front of CDC headquarters. Across the road, the women of WIPNET, dressed in white t-shirts and blue lappa, those who prayed for and fought and won peace, held placards, and asked in a way that was understated yet powerful, for a peaceful election. After Tubman's public denouement, hundreds of mostly young CDCion decided they too would boycott the vote. They gathered on the lawn, forming small circles for public debate, leaning on motorbikes, focused on a stage where George Weah's voice was emanating, though the man himself had yet to materialize. "We won't vote because our pa arrives!" they chanted. The adoration of Weah, the CDC's vice standard bearer and a former top footballer, is expressed by the familial term.

Members of the local and international press jam into a small room near the back of the Moorish building with its large portico. Weah arrived first -- in white dashiki, white linen pants and white leather loafers. He said nothing. Then Tubman came in, similarly outfitted.

He would not assure participation until conditions, ever changing, are met. He thinks refusing to vote is not only a powerful message but a constitutional right. He seemed confident in a way I hadn't seen before.