Politics
THE West African Elders Forum (WAEF) has advised Nigerians to use the 2023 general election to set a pace for peaceful election and democracy in the Africa sub-region.
The Head of WAEF Election Mission to Nigeria, former Ghanaian President John Mahama, gave the advice while briefing newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
He said that the 2023 general election was not only critical to Nigeria but to the African continent.
“From our interactions with the stakeholders, everybody is in an advanced stage of preparation for the elections. What is left is not the mechanisms and the procedures, it is what Nigerians themselves will do.
“And that is why we’re here. We come from other West African countries. But like I said, we care about what happens in Nigeria because you are the biggest economy in West Africa, and the most populous black African country in the world.
“In the recent past, some of our countries have backslide in terms of democracy, there is coup d’état in other countries.
“We expect Nigeria to get it right, so that they can send a signal to those other countries that democracy is the way to go, creating the space so that people can be governed properly.
“So that they can express themselves, can have their human rights protected. That democracy is the best form of governance. So that is the message we bring to Nigerians,” Mahama said.
He described Nigeria as a great country and big brother in the sub-region, hence its election is a big event for all of Africa.
He said that the 2023 election would go a long way in stabilizing democracy, promoting good governance and maintaining peace in the sub-region.
“We are pleased with the level of preparedness by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security forces policing the elections and other stakeholders involved in the elections, towards conducting a free and fair exercise.
“We are also impressed by the commitment of the candidates to support violent-free elections which they have demonstrated by signing two Peace Accords.
“ This is a tradition that has continued to serve Nigeria well during elections, since it was introduced in 2015.
“The Peace Accord mechanism is a positive development which other African countries can adopt and apply to improve their elections and guarantee peace before, during and after elections.”
Mahama encouraged the candidates to keep to the terms of the peace accords in the interest of peace and progress in Nigeria.
He said that the mission was not in Nigeria to observe election, like other elections observer missions, but to show solidarity and goodwill to Nigeria’s elections and to encourage Nigerians to behave in a manner that would ensure peaceful poll.
“As a non-partisan platform for former leaders in our sub-region, our role is not to observe election in its strict sense, but to lend our support to the efforts of West African countries towards consolidating their democracies.
“We do this by providing advisory and mediation services to avert election-related conflicts, before, during and after elections.
“Our Mission’s engagements here, and in any other West African country holding election, are guided by our own personal experiences as former Presidents and leaders in the sub-region, who had managed elections and overseen successful conflict resolution and peace processes.”
He explained that on Saturday, members of the mission would visit few polling stations in Abuja, to observe election day procedures and results collation processes.
“But we will mainly be on hand after Saturday’s elections to engage key stakeholders, if need be, towards guaranteeing peaceful outcomes.
“This means that some of our members will remain in the country until the election procedures are peacefully concluded,” he said.
He recalled that in December, the forum deployed a three-man delegation to Nigeria to undertake a pre-election mediation mission.
He recalled that the forum was made up of former President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma; and former Vice President of the Gambia, Fatoumata Tambajang.
The third delegate was Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambers, former President of the ECOWAS Commission and former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the UNOWAS.
He said that during the mission, the delegation met with President Muhammadu Buhari; INEC Chairman, the National Security Adviser, presidential candidates, political parties, civil society leaders, President of the ECOWAS Commission, development partners and other stakeholders.
He added that on Friday the mission had visited former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and commended his efforts toward stabilizing democracy in Nigeria, especially for initiating the National Peace Committee and the Peace Accords.
“We are pleased that Gen. Abubakar is a member of our Elders of Forum, just as we also have former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan as our members.
“We will also visit other key stakeholders just to encourage them in the job they are doing to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He added that the forum would be on standby, so that in the event that there is a need for mediation with any of the stakeholders, they would be able to do that.
-(Culled from NAN)
KN
Tags: President John Mahama President Muhammadu Buhari West African Elders Forum
