Liberia's elections present an opportunity for the international community to ensure that Charles Taylor, the former president, faces justice before a UN war crimes tribunal, according to the special prosecutor who accuses him of being responsible for 1.2m deaths.

Desmond de Silva, prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone - which is investigating Mr Taylor's alleged role in that country's internal conflicts - met Cindy Courville, senior director for African affairs in the US National Security Council, shortly before yesterday's polls. He wants the Bush administration to press Nigeria to hand over Mr Taylor before the court, already trying nine other people, starts wrapping up its work next March.