UN Security Council hails peaceful presidential runoff in Liberia

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday hailed the peaceful conduct of the Dec. 26 presidential runoff election in Liberia.

"The members of the Security Council congratulated the Liberian people and government, as well as political leaders, civil society organizations, and the media for the peaceful conduct of the Dec. 26 presidential runoff election. They congratulated the two candidates for the responsible conduct of their campaigns," said the Security Council in a press statement.

They council members noted the significance of the first peaceful transfer of power between democratically elected leaders in Liberia in over 70 years. They further noted the importance of the upcoming political transition and commended active engagement between the outgoing and incoming administrations leading up to the inauguration of President-elect George Weah, it said.

They commended Liberia's National Elections Commission, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the government of Liberia for their preparation and execution of the presidential runoff and for their efforts to address the issues from the Oct. 10 legislative and presidential election, said the statement.

They further expressed appreciation to the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, and all international, regional, and domestic election observation missions for their contributions to the transparency of the electoral process and timely assessments.

The members of the Security Council encouraged the continued engagement of the international community and donors to assist Liberia's continued efforts to achieve sustainable peace. Enditem