Jonathan sues for peace ahead of Liberia’s run-off elections

As Liberians go to the polls to elect a new president in the run-off elections scheduled for Tuesday, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has called for a free and fair election.

Jonathan who is currently on election duty in Liberia alongside Atifete Jahjaga, former president of Kosovo and other NDI leaders made the call when he met with the two candidates up for election, former soccer star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai.

He urged Liberians to be ready to accept the result of the elections in the interest of peace and also noted that the future of the country depended on the outcome of the run-off elections.

Jonathan said; “In any election, there are winners and losers. Only one presidential candidate will be declared winner. The other should accept the election results to avoid a political crisis, especially if there are no good grounds to challenge the outcome.”

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He also called on security outfits to play their roles, to ensure a peaceful, inclusive and transparent electoral process while also urging Liberians not to do anything that could jeopardise the post-war peace in the country.

He further said: “The economy of Liberia will benefit immensely from a positive and peaceful outcome, as a free and fair process would go a long way in reassuring investors that the country is now safe for lasting investment.

“If the election fails it means Liberia has failed, it also means that Liberia has failed West Africa and failed the entire Africa.”

Liberia’s run-off election is going ahead today after a series of investigations into allegations of irregularities and fraud in the first round of elections.

The run-off which was initially set to be staged on November 7 was postponed till today by Justice Francis Korkpor of the Supreme Court in Liberia.

Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party who came third in the first round of elections contested the outcome of the election result which saw Weah emerge the front-runner with 39%, while his closest opponent, Vice-President Boakai came second with 29%.

 

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