Politics
THE ECOWAS has started training political parties and stakeholders on democratic principles ahead of the upcoming elections in Liberia scheduled to hold on October 10, 2017. It is aimed at fostering free, fair and peaceful elections.
The three-day workshop which holds form July 17 to 19, 2017, in Monrovia, Liberia, will sensitise political parties on their role in ensuring the conduct of peaceful elections.
Halima Ahmed, the ECOWAS commissioner for political Affairs, Peace and Security, stated that, the commission believed training stakeholders of the electoral process was necessary and it would serve as a means of engaging with the political parties who are the main strategic actors involved in the forthcoming elections in Liberia.
More 70 representatives from the 26 registered political parties in attendance of the workshop will be trained on media relations, effective campaign strategies, political party financing, campaign finance and the mobilization of women and youth into political parties and their activities.
Also, media organisations and journalists, have been identified as an integral component towards ensuring peaceful elections and will be sensitized on the electoral process and professional ethics in the development of sensitive content during the workshop.
Tunde Ajisomo, an ambassador and the special representative of the ECOWAS president in Liberia, reiterated the importance of holding this training in Liberia which he stated comes at a time when the electioneering processes are gaining momentum.
The workshop which was officially declared open by Amos Sawyer, the former interim president of Liberia, is in preparation for the first peaceful transfer of power from one elected president to another in Liberia since 1944.
Also in attendance of the opening session of the workshop were Remi Ajibewa, the ECOWAS director for Political Affairs, and representatives from the United Nations Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.
— Jul 19, 2017 @ 16:20 GMT
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