Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has said that it is concerned about the success of Nigeria’s 2023 general elections due to its effects on the region and Africa as a continent.
Former chairman, Electoral Commission of Ghana, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, disclosed this yesterday when he led a delegation of ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact Finding Mission to Nigeria at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the director, Political Affairs, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Remi Ajibewa, said that they were in Nigeria for fact-finding ahead of the country 2023 general elections in line with ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol 2021 to observe elections in Nigeria.
According to Ajibewa, Articles 11, 12, and 13 of the protocol mandated the commission to deploy electoral fact-finding team to every member states of ECOWAS that were about to conduct the election, especially the presidential election.
He also said the delegation’s visit to Nigeria was not the first time as that was done during other previous elections in the country, including the 2019 general elections.
He said that ECOWAS lookrd forward to successful and credible elections in West African countries especially Nigeria in 2023 given the leadership role the country played in the sub-region.
He said, “We all know the importance Nigeria holds, given the fact that, as they used to say, if Nigeria sneezes, the whole West Africa catches cold and we don’t pray that will be the result. So, we are here to listen to you, to see the area of challenges that we might also report.”
Responding, the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, assured the ECOWAS delegation that Nigeria’s 2023 general elections would be technology-driven to enhance the success of the election.
“Let me restate the commitment of INEC Nigeria to free, fair and credible elections driven by technology. The 2023 general election in Nigeria will be driven by technology not only as a matter of legal requirement, but also as a matter of course, for us in the commission.
“So, I want to assure the ECOWAS team that we are committed to delivering a credible election in the next four months and a few days, which will be Nigeria’s seventh successive elections, since the restoration of democracy in 1999,” Yakubu said.
The INEC boss also said in demonstration of INEC openness and the ritual of receiving international observers, the commission had invited international organisations across the world to come and observe Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
“ECOWAS has demonstrated that seriousness and commitment to ensuring that we get right electorally in this region in the next few weeks, I’m sure many more organizations will come. Election Observation is an important part of ensuring transparency and credibility in elections.”
“We have always benefited from the insight of election observation missions. For instance, if you are here on fact-finding, we’ll hear from you what we have found so far, which will help us in concluding our preparations for the election.”
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