General

The second round of the presidential elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, pitting the incumbent, Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, against challenger Winston Tubman, who came second in the first round of the vote on 11 October.

According to media reports, Mr. Tubman has refused to participate in the run-off, alleging that it will not be fair.

The 15-member Council, in a statement issued to the press, said it is “deeply concerned” over statements urging a boycott of the election, as well as over threats received by staff of the national electoral body.

“The members of the Security Council call on all Liberian stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and work together to maintain confidence in the electoral process,” said the statement, while also urging all parties to use existing appropriate national mechanisms to resolve any complaints about the elections.

Council members also expressed their full support for the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in promoting dialogue in Liberia, and concurred with its recent statement urging all Liberian stakeholders “not to miss this historic opportunity of consolidating democracy and peace in the country.”

Support was also expressed for the efforts of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in assisting the Liberian authorities, in accordance with its mandate. The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force in Liberia since 2003 to bolster a ceasefire agreement ending a decade of war that killed nearly 150,000 people, mostly civilians.

A blind voter is assisted to drop his ballot by a polling officer in Buchanan, Liberia, during national elections on 11 October 2011