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Liberian President Sirleaf urges citizens to vote amid boycott threat

05 November 2011 21:54 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Liberian President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf has called on her compatriots to turn out in large numbers and vote in the Nov. 8 presidential run-off election while criticizing the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) for its decision to boycott the polls, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

In a statement issued in the capital Monrovia on Saturday, President Sirleaf said Winston Tubman, the CDC Standard Bearer, has called on Liberians to give up their franchise, their right to vote.

"He has told the people to violate the Constitution and ignore the fundamental law which we, as a people, as a community, and as a nation have agreed to uphold," she added.

"When you start violating the Constitution, where do you stop? If this is how they run their party, think of how they would have run our country! The Constitution governs us; it protects us; it is the thread that holds us all together," the Liberian leader said.

Winston Tubman, head of the main opposition party CDC, on Friday announced that his party would not take part in the Nov. 8 run-off election against Johnson-Sirleaf.

CDC, which came second in the first round of election on Oct. 11, is demanding replacement of members of the current National Elections Commission and recount from the ballots in the first round before they take part in any run-off.

James Fromayan, the former NEC Chairman, has resigned the post.

But in an address to the nation on Saturday, President Johnson- Sirleaf said, Tubman and his CDC party were trying to deny Liberians the right to exercise their franchise at the ballot box, in line with the country’s constitution.

Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia (UNMIL) says it’s closely monitoring developments in the country relating to the pending run-off election.

Also in a statement on Saturday, UNMIL urged all Liberians not to resort to violence, despite political disagreement and urged all to ensure that peace reigns.

"The Secretary General stresses the importance of peaceful, credible, transparent elections and reaffirms the readiness of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to support the Liberian authorities, in accordance with its mandate," the UN statement said.