TheCable

The West African Elders Forum (WAEF) has deployed an election observer mission to Liberia for the country’s 2023 general election.

The election is scheduled for October 10.

In a statement, Wealth Ominabo, communications officer of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, said the former president, who is leading the delegation, left Nigeria on Saturday for Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

Members of the mission include Kadre Ouedraogo, former Burkina Faso prime minister and one-time president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Ominabo said the team would be on hand to observe how the elections progress and provide support for peaceful elections to ensure “consolidation of democracy in the country, leveraging their experiences as former leaders of the sub-region”.

He said the delegation will meet with “critical stakeholders”, opposition leaders, the electoral management body and the security authorities, including President George Weah, who is seeking re-election.

Ominabo said members of the WAEF mission will be in Liberia for about ten days and would visit polling stations in Monrovia to observe Election Day procedures and the results collation process.

Ominabo quoted Ann Iyonu, executive director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation and head of the WAEF secretariat, as saying that members of the mission would “be holding consultations with the candidates, managers of the elections, and observer missions and other key stakeholders towards ensuring” a peaceful election outcome.

“The role of the WAEF Mission is to provide advisory, mediation, and conflict resolution support services to the political leaders of the sub-region,” Iyonu said.

Ominabo added that the delegation’s engagements in the country would be guided by their experience and wisdom as former presidents and leaders in the sub-region.