The Election Observer Mission deployed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, has expressed delight at the peaceful conduct of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections, stressing that the turnout of votere has been encouraging.
Leader of the ECOWAS Election Observer Group and former President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, after witnessing the counting of votes at Polling Unit 028 in Gana street, Maitama, at the heart of Nigeria’s capital Abuja, told reporters that the West African sub-region hoped that the peaceful conduct in Abuja will be a general reflection of the process through the federation.
He said, “As ECOWAS Observer Mission, we are pleased to say that from the observation of the polling stations that we have visited, it has been generally peaceful, the turnout has been impressive and we saw a lot of enthusiasm on the part of the voters.
“The process has also been commendable, there has been a late start here and there but generally it has been good and we have just witnessed the counting which has also gone very well in this polling station that we have witnessed.
“So, we hope that this will be a reflection of what will happen in the rest of the country and we also hope that at the end of the day what comes out will be a reflection of the will of the people. So, we want to continue to encourage Nigerians to be law abiding, to stay within the framework of the law and let us observe this election until the official results are put out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
ECOWAS has the highest number of observer missions in Nigeria with about 250-member delegations spread across states of the federation to observe the elections.
The Mission will collaborate with other groups such as the Commonwealth group led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the European Union Observer Group headed by Barry Andrews, the African Union group led by former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, among others.
