Prior to Sierra Leone’s slated general elections in June 2023, the West African Elders’ Forum (WAEF) embarked on a pre-election fact-finding mission there, headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF), the organization that hosts WAEF, released a statement on this subject on Wednesday in Abuja.
Goodluck Jonathan, a former president of The Gambia, and Fatoumata Tambajang, a former vice president of that country, were also members of the fact-finding team, according to Ominabo.
In order to increase public confidence and trust in the election process, he stated that the team would be interacting with important political figures and other key stakeholders in Sierra Leone.
According to NAN, “The two-day mission in support of inclusive and peaceful general elections is billed to begin on Wednesday. (April 12)
“Members of the missions will hold consultations with the country’s political actors and stakeholders, including the civil society and the Diplomatic Corps, the Electoral Management Bodies and Agencies.
“This is in a bid to ascertain the level of preparedness towards conducting free, fair and credible elections,’’ he said.
Ominabo stated that, the mission to Sierra Leone was in line with the Forum’s goal of fostering preventive diplomacy as a way to lessen tension and bloodshed associated with elections in Africa.
He claimed that WAEF, which was established in 2020 with the goal of promoting peace, democracy, and good government, had traveled to numerous nations, including the Gambia and Nigeria, on preventive diplomacy missions.
“Beyond its engagements in Sierra Leone, WAEF is scheduled to carry out a similar mission to Liberia, two nations that hold general elections in 2023,” Ominabo said.
He noted that WAEF sent a delegation of past presidents to meet with some of the presidential contenders and other significant players in the country following Nigeria’s presidential and national assembly elections on February 25.
In order to prevent post-election violence in the nation, he claimed that the team was speaking with the stakeholders about spreading a message of peace.
Sierra Leone’s 2023 elections will be the country’s sixth democratic election and the fifth since the end of the civil war in 2002.
Ref:NAN
