Jonathan Leads West African Delegation To Observe Liberia Election

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has led a West African delegation, also known as the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), to observe the 2023 election in Liberia scheduled for October 10.

In a statement on Sunday, the spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Wealth Ominabo, said the former president and the delegation left Nigeria on Saturday for Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

He said members of the mission include the former Burkina Faso Prime Minister and a former President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Kadre Ouedraogo.

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 would be in Liberia for about ten days and would visit polling stations in Monrovia to observe Election Day procedures and the results collation process.

He 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.

He quoted the Executive Director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation and head of the WAEF Secretariat, Ann Iyonu, 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.

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.