PHOTO: Liberia’s Foreign Minister, Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, along with some members of the 60-member joint AU-ECOWAS delegation visiting Liberia
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
A 60-member joint African Union (AU)-Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delegation is Liberia on a ‘pre-election fact-finding mission’, ahead of the country’s presidential and legislative elections slated for October 10, 2023.
Foreign Minister, Dee Maxwell Saah Kemeyah said that the forthcoming elections is crucial to consolidating the democracy as well as the sustenance of peace and national development in Liberia.
Foreign Minister Kemayah made spoke during a courtesy call by the ECOWAS-AU Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission in Liberia at his Ministry of foreign Affairs office on the Capitol Hill.
He reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of President, George Manneh Weah and the Liberian government to ensuring the conduct of free, fair, transparent, peaceful, inclusive and credible general and presidential elections on October 10, 2023 in Liberia.
The Dean of the Cabinet said there is absolutely no doubt in his mind, and indeed, everyone else, he believed, “the writing is on the wall” that the outcome of a free, fair, transparent, peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process will go in favor of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
This election will further enhance the sustenance and consolidation of peace in Liberia, which is the foundation for a thriving democracy, and the pursuit of the national development agenda, said Minister Kemayah.
As an initial step to funding the electoral process, the Liberian Foreign Minister said in spite of the challenging fiscal situation, the government has given the National Elections Commission the appropriate funding in the national budget needed to conduct of the October 2023 Elections.
Speaking earlier, ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia, Josephine Nkrumah, who escorted the team to the Foreign Ministry, said the fact-finding mission is in the country to engage and hold discussions with the Liberian government, Civil Society Organizations and various stakeholders in the country as it relates to the October 10, 2023 general and presidential elections, noting that the mission is to do an objective observation and make an appropriate recommendation to government.
“The outcome and findings derived from the meetings held with the stakeholders will be captured in a final mission report with eventual recommendations, which will shape ECOWAS and AU’s engagement and assistance to Liberia ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the Mission to Liberia is in addition to ongoing technical support and funding to the National Elections Commission,” Ambassador Nkrumah said.
According to her, while in Liberia, the mission is expected to meet and hold discussions with all stakeholders in the country.
For her part, Ambassador Haja Alari Cole, member of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, disclosed that they are in Liberia to represent the continent to carry out a fact-finding mission to see how prepare Liberia is to face the upcoming election in October 2023.
Ambassador HajaAlari Cole also narrated that they are in the country to explore on how the regional body will assist as it relates to national security for the October 2023 general and presidential elections, as well as to make an informed decision on how the fact-finding mission will work in Liberia.
Madam Cole said they are here to facilitate the gathering of relevant and useful information on the electoral process, noting that the mission will interact during their stay in Liberia with the NEC, political parties, civil society organizations and youth.
The visiting mission is being co-led by Professor Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of the Independent Nigerian Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria for ECOWAS, and Ambassador Calixte Mbari, Head of Democracy, Elections and Constitutionalism of the African Union Commission.
Other members of the mission are Ambassador Haja Alari Cole, member of the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Elyse Ouedraogo, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Burkina Faso, M. Muhammad Sulaiman Isa, Deputy Ambassador of Nigeria to ECOWAS, Dr. Cyriaque Agnekethom, ECOWAS Director of Peacekeeping and Regional Security, as well as a joint technical team from the ECOWAS and AU commissions.