MONROVIA – The West African Forum (WAEF) led by former President of Nigeria, H.E. Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday, July 14, met with leaders of political parties on a pre-campaign mediation mission.
WAEF is an initiative of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation established to serve as a home-grown non-partisan platform of past Heads of States and Governments of West Africa.
The recently held discussion was centered on the concerns of electoral stakeholders, in particular the level plain field ahead of the October 10 polls.
The former Vice President of Liberia, and Standard Bearer of the Unity Party, H. E Joseph Nyumah Boakai expressed gratitude to WAEF on behalf of the UP.
The UP Standard Bearer highlighted the issues of security, limited funding to the NEC, the independence of the Court, the timeliness of adjudicating election-related cases and the reported plan by the government to thwart the democratic will of the people.
He stressed the collective desire of the people for free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
The UP standard bearer noted: “The people want nothing less than a transparent and credible process that protects their democratic decisions, and as a Party, we are prepared to stand with them to defend their democratic rights; nothing short of free, fair, transparent and credible elections will be accepted by the people and the entire opposition bloc in Liberia”.
He reaffirmed the Unity Party’s commitment to upholding the Farmington Declaration for a nonviolent election, Rescue Father called on the WAEF mediation mission, Ecowas and other regional bodies including the UN and Foreign Embassies to frequently monitor developments in Liberia as the October 10 legislative and presidential elections near.
The founder of WAEF, H. E Goodluck Jonathan thanked Rescue Father for expressing the collective position of the Liberian people, and for the reaffirmation of commitment for a violent free elections in line with the Farmington pact. The Former Nigerian leader narrated tales of his experience mediating in conflict and/or disagreement arising from elections across the subregion. He promised to inform relevant regional authorities about the concerns of the Liberian people as expressed by Rescue Father, JNB.
The former Nigerian leader pledged to return with a full delegation to observe the October 10 Presidential and Legislative elections.
