Jonathan leads West African delegation to observe Senegal presidential poll

Former President Goodluck Jonathan will lead a West African Elders Forum (WAEF) mediation mission to observe the presidential election in Senegal.

Wealth Ominabo, communications officer of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, said in a statement on Thursday that the team will meet different stakeholders ahead of the March 24 election.

“The mission, led by WAEF Chairperson and former Nigerian President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, also includes Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former Under-Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel and former president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as well as staff of the WAEF secretariat,” the statement reads.

Members of the mission left Abuja on Thursday for Dakar and will be in Senegal from March 21 to 27.

The statement said the team would also meet with the outgoing President Macky Sall, opposition leaders, civil society groups, the security authorities, and the country’s electoral commission.

“WAEF is a forum primed for mediation, advisory and conflict resolution roles to ensure that election related conflicts are reduced to the barest minimum in the West Africa sub-region,” Ann Iyonu, executive director of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation and head of the WAEF secretariat, said.

Iyonu said members of the mission would closely observe the process of elections and continue to engage the political leaders and other stakeholders in Senegal until the election procedures are “peacefully and successfully” concluded.

WAEF had played similar roles during elections in The Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.