AU, ECOWAS observers laud Liberia elections

The African Union and the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS have commended the largely peaceful manner in which the Liberian general elections were held.

Presenting their preliminary finding on the election process, the head of the ECOWAS observer mission and former Ghanaian president, John Mahama lauded the efforts of the Liberian security services in quelling the pockets of violence which arose during voting on Tuesday.

JOHN MAHAMA, HEAD, ECOWAS OBSERVER MISSION

“The mission believes thus far, and let me emphasis here, the mission believes thus far, up to this point, that with the environment and the lead up to the election, the voting day activities, sorting and counting of the ballot, Liberia is largely on track to achieve a credible poll”.

The AU and ECOWAS made several recommendations about the electoral process including the need for a review of the electoral register which accounted for long winding queues on voting day, as well as adequate training for election staff.

Following the backlash observer missions received after declaring Kenya’s recent elections were fair, the two African observer missions fell short of giving a final verdict on the conduct of the polls.

Candidates who contested the polls have been asked to use the appropriate legal process if they have any reservations over the outcome of the polls in order to maintain the country’s fragile peace.