President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in a nationally broadcast address earlier today, called upon Liberians to 'nurture' the peace they are experiencing after two decades of conflict by turning out to vote in Tuesday's presidential run-off.
The 73-year-old incumbent, who won the first round with 44% of the vote, faces challenger Winston Tubman, who has asked his supportes to boycott Tuesday's poll.
Observers speculate that Tubman is seeking to delay voting beyond the constitutionally mandated schedule so he can argue that the current administration is illegitimate and can press for a government of 'national inclusion' in which he would have a role.
The Economic Community of West Africa States (Ecowas), the 16-nation regional grouping of which Liberia is a member, called Tubman's decision "unfortunate" and said "it is intended to undermine the election and the democratic process that Liberians are striving hard to consolidate."
In a statement issued Saturday, the Commission said Tubman's reaffirmation of the boycott on his return to Monrovia Friday from Abuja, "goes against the grain of the discussions that Ambassador Tubman held with the Chairman," Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
In her address, Johnson Sirleaf urged Liberians to reject what she said was Tubman's call "to give up their franchise, their right to vote." The former ambassador, who won 32.7% of the votes in round one has chosen this path " because he fears defeat," she said.
Other political parties who contested the election for president and legislature have recognized the results. Tubman's Congress for Democratic Change has agreed to accept the 15 seats its members won in the legislator, she said, but has claimed fraud in the presidential contest which was conducted at the same time.
"After decades of conflict and social disorder, Liberia is now raising a generation of children that do not know of war, whose sleep and schooling have never been interrupted by gunfire," Johnson Sirleaf said. "We must cherish this peace. We must nurture it and ensure that our path is irreversible. "
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The October 11 elections, in which 70 percent of voters participated, "were validated by 4,800 domestic and international observers as free, fair and transparent – not marred by a single act of violence," she said.
The U.S. State Department called Tubman's criticism of first-round voting "unsubstantiated." In a statement issued Saturday afternoon, spokesperson Victoria Nuland said: "As evidenced by international and domestic observers, Liberia's October 11 first-round presidential and legislative elections were fair, free and transparent." She said all Liberians should be encouraged to vote Tuesday.
Ecowas said Jonathan "advised the CDC leadership against boycotting the remainder of the electoral process" and stressed "it was too late in the day" for the CDC to be demanding extensive time-consuming electoral law amendments.
In his statement Friday calling for the boycott, Tubman said "Any government coming out of the November 8 process will be without a national mandate to govern and will not be recognised by the CDC." But Ecowas said the outcome would be accepted as long as the vote is "judged by the competent authorities and endorsed by credible observers to be in accordance with the electoral laws of Liberia."
Declaring the run-off an "historic opportunity" for Liberia, Ecowas issued "a final appeal" to the CDC to abandon boycott plans and "to refrain from all unconstitutional practices that may mar the concluding phase of the electoral process."
