12th June, 2018
The President, ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, has called for sustained political dialogue, effective communication and structured engagements between Guinea’s Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) and other political stakeholders including development partners.
A statement issued by ECONEC spokesman, Mr Paul Ejime, on Monday in Abuja quoted Yakubu as making the call when ECONEC delegation met with “interlocutors” in Guinea.
The interlocutors according to the statement include representatives of the EU, USAID, US, German and Japanese embassies, the American National Democratic Institute (NDI), CENI, and three CSOs, Cellule Balai Citoyen, PCUD and CNOSCG.
Yakubu said that structured engagements would enable the articulation of needs, political inclusivity and focused support for the entrenchment of best practices in the electoral process.
Yakubu added that such engagement would contribute to sustained credible elections and consolidation of democracy in the country.
He pledged that the Mission would reflect on its report to the relevant authorities, areas of support to address the identified needs and strengthen the capacity of CENI Guinea in line with ECONEC’s mandate to empower its members.
The ECONEC Chairman said that was necessary to deliver credible and peaceful elections and contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the ECOWAS region.
The statement noted that the delegation also met with the ECOWAS Special Representative in Guinea, Liliane Alapini, and representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and development partners, in continuation of its electoral mid-term follow-up Mission to Guinea,
It quoted Alapini commending ECONEC for working hand in hand with the ECOWAS Commission towards deepening democracy in the region by supporting credible and peaceful polls.
On the agenda of the consultations were issues from the disputed results of Guinea’s last February’s municipal elections and areas of further support by ECOWAS, ECONEC, and the development partners.
Also discussed was the implementation of recommendations of ECOWAS Observation Mission (EOM) to Guinea’s 2015 presidential poll and those in the October 2016 Political Accord.
These include the restructuring of CENI and other legal and political reforms ahead of the country’s 2019 parliamentary vote and the 2020 presidential election.
It noted that the development partners and CSO representatives had harped on the need for the implementation of the recommendations of the ECOWAS EOM’s in the aftermath of the 2015 presidential vote.
It also include those contained in the 2016 Political Accord signed by the ruling and opposition parties with ECOWAS, UN, EU, Francophonie organisation, and the US and French envoys as observers.
It listed some of the recommendations to include reform of CENI to make it more technical and professional, as well as legal and political reforms for a level playing field and socio-political climate.