The United Nations in Liberia, ECOWAS, embassies of member states of the African Union, the EU Delegation and the embassies of the EU member states (France, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden), the embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the embassy of the United States of America have commended the Liberian people and government, as well as political leaders, civil society organizations and the media for the peaceful conduct of the December 8 mid-term senatorial election and Constitutional referendum.
In a joint statement, the foreign missions noted, “We have been inspired by the strong commitment to democracy expressed by Liberians in these elections. We express appreciation for the efforts of the National Elections Commission (NEC), and in particular, poll workers present at polling places across the country, as well as all those mobilized on election day, including domestic observers and members of security forces, for the overall smooth and orderly running of the elections. We welcome and support the announcement by the NEC that those electoral irregularities and incidents identified during election day will be properly addressed.
“As the tallying process by the NEC continues, we underscore the importance that all political parties, leaders and supporters, as well as candidates, respect this process and wait patiently until the tallying is completed and the results are officially announced. We again recall the commitments made by stakeholders in the Code of Conduct to ensure a peaceful and transparent electoral process. We call on all political parties, leaders, candidates and media actors to renounce the use of inciting language and premature declarations of victory. We also call on political leaders and candidates to pursue any disputes through peaceful means and dialogue in accordance with the law.
“International partners continue to follow closely the electoral process. We are confident in the strong commitment of the people of Liberia to democracy, peace and stability, and remain fully resolute to continuing our support to Liberians in their development and peacebuilding efforts.”