"Her campaign strategy is making an impact," a bystander was heard saying as thousands of supporters and sympathizers of Liberia's foremost female international civil servant, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, paraded along with her on Sunday afternoon along the Tubman boulevard from Monrovia through the suburb of Sinkor and back.

Sunday is usually a quiet day in Liberia with people having to only attend church services and returned home for rest to begin the next weekday of work.

But the climax of Johnson-Sirleaf's presidential run-off election campaign on Sunday attracted residents along the boulevard as they came out to catch glimpse of her parade. The Harvard-trained economist and former World Bank executive and her supporters had Monrovia all to themselves, unlike previous occasions, when political parties had to compete with commuters for space during a bustling day.

Addressed in a light yellow and green African attire with a head tie to match, Ellen, as she is commonly called, sat on the top of a moving van at a walking pace and waived and blew kisses at her thousands of supporters and the hundreds of bystanders.

"Victory is certain," Thomas Byean, a supporter of Johnson- Sirleaf said, as the jubilant crowd chanted their campaign slogan "If you are up, you are up. If you are down you are down. Ellen is up."

The 66-year-old grandmother and former United Nations staff is challenging Liberia's football legend George Weah in the presidential run-off election slated for Tuesday. Campaigning for the run-off election ends officially at midnight Sunday.

Both Weah and Johnson-Sirleaf pulled the highest number of votes during the first round of polling from among a pack of 22 presidential candidates. But neither of them could obtain the more than 50 percent required to win.

The football star and former AC Milan striker got the highest percentage of votes at 28.3 percent while the political "Iron Lady " came second with 19.8 percent.

The outcome of Tuesday's run-off election is still difficult to predict, as both parties seem to be gaining significant and almost equal level of support from those who were defeated in the first round of the polls. And it would not be until Wednesday, when the first progressive results are expected to roll in that a picture could be formed as to which one of the two candidates could emerge as the most likely winner.

The issues both candidates would have to contend with if either is elected president are reconciliation among Liberians, reconstruction of basic social services which torn apart during the 14 years of civil war such as schools, health care facilities, roads, safe drinking water, electricity as well as reintegrating thousands of ex-combatants and the creation of job opportunities.

Illiteracy rate in the west African state stands at about 85 percent and unemployment is put at 80 percent. This includes an external debt of around 3 billion US dollars.

In response to all of these challenges that await either of the two candidates, the Harvard-trained economist and former World Bank executive said she has the "contacts and experience" to address these challenges.

At the end of her pre-victory parade, she said to a group of hearing and speech impaired "you are a minority group but we care for you and understand your needs."

"Thanks for your support and go out on Tuesday and vote for the interest of Liberia. Vote for the future of Liberia. Vote in the interest of education," Johnson-Sirleaf told them. "We have a commitment to improve the quality of living of all Liberians."

The run-off election would bring to an end transitional power- sharing government of Liberia next January 16, following 14 years of civil in which an estimated 250,000 people died and about one million made refugees.

An Economic Community of West African States brokered peace deal among the warring factions led to the two-year power-sharing transitional arrangement and a UN Security Council authorization of 15,000 United Nations peacekeeping troops, whose presence in the west African State has stabilized the situation, creating an enabling environment for the national elections.

Source: Xinhua