Meeting virtually on Tuesday 3 November, the Council of Liberal Presidents convened by the President of Liberal International, discussed the state of liberal democracy around the world and agreed on the following joint statement:
The whole world is watching the elections in the United States very closely and on this day that America votes, we the Council of Liberal Presidents affirm our commitment to upholding and continuing to promote in our everyday activities the values of freedom, liberalism, and democracy.
We are concerned by the rise in authoritarian trends around the world, and the increasing use of the COVID pandemic by some leaders to expand restrictive measures and curtail individual rights and freedoms of citizens. Acts of terrorism such as those witnessed in France and Austria in the past week as well as the exploitation of global crises to arrest pan-democrat legislators and democracy activists, such as is the case right now in Hong Kong, remind us that we cannot take our freedoms and democracy for granted. Democracies can be fragile and require constant attention to ensure they remain in good health.”
We affirm that free and fair elections are the foundation of healthy democracies and respecting the vote results and peaceful transfers of power are especially vital. Failing to ensure this undermines trust in the electoral process and risks violence and repression, as we currently witness in Guinea.
We are concerned that the incumbent President of the United States has sought to frame any election result in which he does not win as fraudulent, and repeatedly denounced the free press as “the enemy of the people”.
Such actions highlight the inability of the United States, under the incumbent, to support liberal institutions and democracy, undermines the practice of evidence-based policymaking, and erodes universal advocacy of human rights.
We urge President Trump to respect the wishes of the American citizens, whatever they may be, and trust that the US Constitution will be respected, and the final result pronounced only once all votes are counted and verified.
