THURSDAY, 12.00NOON
FORMER US president Jimmy Carter arrives in Monrovia, Liberia, on Thursday for a three-day visit to assess preparations for Liberia’s elections on July 19.
Carter’s visit comes just days after Liberians started registering for the polls to restore democracy to Africa’s first republic, ravaged by a civil war from 1989 to 1996.
Carter will meet with Liberian election officials and leaders of political parties before traveling to Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the Liberian election with government officials there.
Nigeria maintains the largest contingent of peacekeeping troops in Liberia. Part of the 11 000-strong West African Peace Monitoring Force (Ecomog), they have been in Liberia for seven years, keeping rival military factions at bay.