Former President John Dramani Mahama has been appointed to lead the ECOWAS Mission that will observe the Liberia Elections coming up on the 10th of October, 2017. Mahama will head the Ecowas Election Observation Mission made up of 71 members comprising journalists and former diplomats from Commonwealth Member States.
Reports reveal that 21 ECOWAS long-term observers have already been deployed across Liberia’s 15 administrative Counties while 50 short-term observers will join them this week. Both teams are headed by former President Mahama for the observation of the pre-election, the Election-Day (October 10), and post-election processes in Liberia.
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To perform this role, the immediate past president of Ghana left Accra for Monrovia on Thursday, October 5. This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mahama’s Special Aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari. In the statement, Madam Bawa noted that Mahama both while in and out of office, has played very significant roles in maintaining peaceful democracy across Africa.
She pointed out that as former Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, “Mahama has been celebrated for his commitment to ensuring the stability of the sub-region and the continent generally.”
“His tenure as Chair saw the quick handling of various sub-regional crises including the Burkinabe Political turmoil, the election dispute in Togo and the outbreak of Ebola in three West African countries including Liberia, part of the statement reads.
Since leaving Office in January, President Mahama has been helping to entrench democracy and stability in Africa. He has also been working with the African Development Bank to help improve agriculture,” she added.
Mr. John Mahama was also Co-mediator to The Gambian election crises which brewed few months before he left office as Ghana president. Throughout the period of political impasse, Mahama continued to participate in diplomatic talks to have Yayah Jammeh step down from the presidential position.
Moreover, Mahama was in Kenya as part of Commonwealth Observer Mission to monitor the East African country’s August 8 elections. He was also reported to have given quality advice to Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta’s opponent during the elections, which although not initially heeded to, finally served justice and fairness at the end of the day.
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The Former President has also been working with the African Development Bank to help improve agriculture.
In landmark elections slated for next week Tuesday, Liberians will vote in the country’s third postwar presidential and legislative polls. The 2017 Liberia elections has been described as the country’s most hotly contested since the inception of multiparty system in the 1980’s.
About 1,000 candidates representing 26 political parties are said to be contesting for the legislative slots while 20 candidates are vying for presidency.
Incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female president who has ruled for two tenures is now ineligible to run having exhausted the constitutionally mandated term limits.
January 2018 will therefore mark the first time in recent history that a democratically elected Liberian president will hand over power to a similarly elected head of state.
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