Obama: Liberians must vote free from fear

A supporter of the opposition Congress for Democratic
Change (CDC) party holds a placard in Monrovia
© AFP Issouf Sanogo

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama warned that Liberians should be able to vote in a run-off election Tuesday free from fear and warned unnamed individuals not to “disrupt the political process.”

“This historic vote is an opportunity for Liberians to strengthen the country’s democracy, and to deepen its peace, prosperity and national unity,” Obama said in a statement issued after election-eve violence in Liberia.

Liberian opposition leader Winston Tubman has called for a boycott of the run-off polls pitting him against incumbent and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Tuesday.

Tubman lost the first round election to Sirleaf along with his running mate, popular former football star George Weah, on October 11, and alleged widespread fraud. But the claims were not upheld by international observers.

The United States said on Saturday that it was “deeply disappointed” by the boycott call, calling Tubman’s claims of fraud “unsubstantiated.”

But there is rising international concern after Liberian riot police shot dead up to four protesters during a rally in Monrovia on the eve of the run-off.

Obama said in the statement issued Monday that the run-off poll was a chance for Liberians to strengthen their democracy and deepen the country’s hard-won peace after years of civil war.

“Liberia has taken important steps to consolidate its democracy since the end of its civil war. Those gains must not be set back by individuals who seek to disrupt the political process,” Obama said.

“The international community will hold accountable those who choose to obstruct the democratic process.

“We encourage all security forces in Liberia to exercise maximum restraint and to allow peaceful protest.”

Obama commended all international election observers, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Liberian people for seeking a free and fair election.

“The United States is deeply committed to its historic relationship with Liberia and its people,” Obama said.

“We are also deeply committed to the strength of democracy on the African continent,” he said.

The election comes eight years after the end of a brutal civil war that left 250,000 dead in a nation founded by African Americans and freed slaves from the United States in 1820.