Former President Goodluck Jonathan had led the West African Elders Forum, WAEF, to Sierra Leone ahead of the country General Elections.
They arrived in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, in preparation for the country’s general election scheduled for June 24.
The delegation includes Kadre Ouedraogo, a former prime minister of Burkina Faso. Ouedraogo was also a president of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. In a statement on Wednesday, the communications officer of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Wealth Dickson Ominabo stated that the forum aims to encourage and support a peaceful democratic transition in Sierra Leone through this visit.
Ominabo further went to high some of the activities the team would be involved in. They include, a series of consultative meetings with various stakeholders in the country. These stakeholders are the leadership of political parties, candidates, the Election Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), security agencies, the diplomatic community, civil society groups, and the media.
The statement reads, “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.”
Jonathan emphasized during the mission that “the citizens of Sierra Leone should 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.”
