Jonathan leads WAEF election mission to Sierra Leone, sues for peace

The West African Elders Forum (WAEF) led by former President Goodluck Jonathan has arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital ahead of the country’s general election scheduled for June 24.

In a statement on Wednesday, Wealth Dickson Ominabo, communications officer of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, said the delegation also includes Kadre Ouedraogo, former Burkinabe prime minister and one-time president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said the forum through the visit, aims to encourage and support a peaceful democratic transition in Sierra Leone.

Ominabo said the team will have a series of consultative engagements with different actors and key stakeholders in the country, including leadership of the political parties, the candidates, the Election Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), security agencies, the diplomatic community, civil society groups, and the media.

“Since its establishment in 2020, WAEF, an initiative of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, has undertaken missions to different countries in the sub-region, including Gambia and Nigeria, in line with the Forum’s mission of preventive diplomacy to reduce electoral-related tension and violence in West Africa,” the statement reads.

According to the statement, Jonathan said the mission “urges citizens of Sierra Leone to approach the election with utmost patriotism by prioritizing the nation’s peace and stability and refrain from acts capable of undermining the nation’s democracy”.