The Women’s Situation Room and Liberia Council of Churches have described Jefferson Koijee’s recent statement urging ruling party supporters to prepare for inauguration as premature and a source of provoking violence.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the Secretary General of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Jefferson Tamba Koijee told his fellow partisans at their headquarters in Congo Town to get ready for in January, 2024.
He firmly informed CDCians that incumbent President George Manneh Weah has already won the 2023 presidential election although the National Elections Commission has not announced the final results for the presidency.
Addressing a joint news conference over the weekend in Monrovia, the two institutions said that such a statement is concerning especially when 99% of the tally clearly announced by the NEC, states there will be a run-off election.
The CDC Secretary General cannot be coming out to make pronouncement of victory when the final tally of results has not been announced by the NEC, they said in a joint statement.
“We call on the leadership of CDC to inform their partisans to desist from pre-celebration announcements, as it would contribute to sparking violence and at the same time, the NEC must similarly take issue with the CDC and condemn the premature victory remarks.
The institutions also urged the opposition Unity Party that was in the forefront of calling for a victory celebration before the final results to desist from said pronouncement as it would be provocative and untimely contrary to their signatory of the Farmington River Declaration.
“We ask all political parties to not yield to provocative statements and continue to remain calm and non-violent,” the statement said.
