Made up of experts in Elections Administration, Political Affairs, Gender and Civil Society, Constitutional Law, Security and the Media, the LTOs who were deployed in the country from 11th September to 18th October for the October 10 polls will continue their assignment as an early warning mechanism for preventive diplomacy, the regional body said in a statement Thursday.
The long-term electoral experts will be reinforced from 9 November 2023, by 80 of their short-term colleagues from the ECOWAS Council of Wise Men, the CEDEAO Parliament, the Community Court of Justice, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of ECOWAS’ Member States, electoral management bodies and civil society organizations, it said.
“As in the first round, Professor Attahiru Jega, former president of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), will lead the ECOWAS observation mission (EOM) for the second round.
Note that the deployment for the runoff, approved by Dr Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, was made under the provisions of Articles 12 to 14 of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance of 2001, as assistance to Member States holding elections.”
