ECOWAS Deploys 40 Observers To Monitor Legislative Elections In Benin
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
As part of its electoral support to member states, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed 40 observers to Republic of Benin ahead of tomorrow’s Legislative elections in the Francophone country.
The observers were deployed to the 12 regions of the country.
President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, approved the deployment of the 40 short-term election observers (STOs) to Benin to support and monitor the entire electoral process.
The Observers were drawn from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of ECOWAS Member States, Electoral Commissions, the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, the ECOWAS Parliament, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Civil Society Organisations, the media and election experts from the region.
Speaking at the pre-deployment briefing, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Touray, represented by the Resident Representative to the Republic of Benin, Ambassador Amadou Diongue, , highlighted that the ECOWAS electoral assistance to its Member States finds its justification in ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance of 2001 and the commitment of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to the timely deployment of Pre-electoral and Observation Missions to Member States organising elections.
He assured the observers that ECOWAS takes their Mission seriously and wished them success as they depart to the field.
The Head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to the Legislative Election in Benin, and a former President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, Raimundo Pereira, while thanking the Observers for their sacrifices to participate in the Mission, emphasised that the presence of the observers is very significant to the electoral process.
He added that their Mission in Benin is to ensure that this process is transparent, peaceful and inclusive.
As part of his pre-engagements consultations, Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, Pereira, visited the Ministry of Interior and Security, the Constitutional Court, National Independent Electoral Commission (CENA), and the High Authority for Communication and Audiovisuals for consultations (HAAC) to assess the level of preparedness for the election.
The Head of Mission is supported by ECOWAS technical Team led by Ambassador Amadou Diongue and the Director of Cabinet to the President of ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Abdou Kolley.
ECOWAS has extended support to the democratic process in Benin and is committed to accompanying the government and people of the Republic of Benin through the Legislative Elections.
