The President of Liberia and Standard Bearer of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), George Manneh Weah, on Friday, August 4, 2023 joined the Muslim community at the Benson Street mosque to offer prayers for the nation ahead of the official start of the 2023 election campaign.
Offering his solemn prayer at the Benson Street Mosque, the Liberian leader urged all members of the Muslim community to always pray for the maintenance of peace and tranquility during this delicate period in Liberia.
The prayer, attended by the Liberian Chief Executive, and organized by the ruling CDC, was observed simultaneously in all 15 counties of the country, with key emphasis on the October 10, 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
President Weah reminded citizens, especially the Muslim community, about the absence of international peace-keeping mission in the country, noting that the onus is on every Liberian to take full ownership of the state’s peace and security.
President Weah indicated that the CDC government, as a state actor, has for the past years incontrovertibly managed to protect and sustain the state peace, despite the absence of international actors who came to Liberia purposefully to implement the United Nations agenda for peace, most notably its peace building component.
President Weah, flanked by Muslim clerics and influential officials of government, including members of the CDC national campaign team, noted that it is his hope and aspiration that Liberia never goes back to its painful past, which saw every state endeavor ruthlessly and direly decimated, and that the gains made under his nearly 6-year rule as President serves as a major determinant for Liberians to feel inspired to maintain the peace, irrespective of their elemental political differences.
The Liberian leader averred that the 2023 elections should be squarely characterized by civil political engagements based on genuine political perspective, and not brutality.
The Liberian leader, who is recognized and honored globally for his elaborate contributions, financial and moral, for keeping the country’s peace, further admonished all citizens from varied political spectrums to remember the importance of stability and be cognizant of the peace the nation enjoys.
“Why it is true that everyone may not have the same political ideology and style of approaching national matters, the biggest achievement of all Liberians is to hold unto the peace during the national campaign season, and after the results of the much-publicized October 10, 2023 polls only the National Elections Commission, a body Constitutionally authorized to announce results to avoid political misapprehensions that usually lead to unjustifiable incitements,” the Liberian leader asserted.
The October 10 general and presidential elections are expected to be a major turning point in Liberia.
Liberia is hosting its second post-conflict election years after the termination of the United Nations agenda for peace in Liberia which was implemented by the United Nations Mission in Liberia during the administration of President Weah’s predecessor, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
The United Nations agenda for peace was created to fast-track peace building initiatives in war-torn nation-states, thus ensuring provision of full assistance, quick recovery, reconciliation and reconstruction.
Liberia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, benefited from this peace building initiative, which focuses on security sector reform, good governance, post conflict elections, refugee and repatriation, truth and reconciliation, civil society reform drive, amongst others.
UNMIL’s mandate was officially transferred to local authorities, with the UN force reduced to 1,240 military and 606 police personnel only in case of emergency; the peacekeeping mission formally withdrew on March 30, 2018.
Since the ascendancy of President George Weah, Liberia’s first ever peace Ambassador the same year UNMIL terminated its mandate, the President has worked laboriously with local and international actors to ensure that the state is on a positive peace trajectory.
In spite of political pundits projecting his inevitable win on the first-round ballot, President Weah has committed to ensure that the nation conducts a free, fair and transparent elections, thus ensuring the full adherence to the tenets of democracy.