The Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has called for closer collaboration among Election Management Bodies, EMBs, across West Africa to deepen democratic governance in the region.
Yakubu made the call on Thursday in Banjul, capital of the Gambia, during the Extraordinary General Assembly of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions, ECONEC.
The INEC chairman, who once served as President of the ECONEC Steering Committee, expressed appreciation for the support he received during his tenure.
He paid tribute to past members of the Network for their contributions to strengthening democratic institutions both within their countries and throughout Africa. He also commended the current leadership for sustaining ECONEC’s relevance and vibrancy.
Recalling the 2017 ECONEC meeting in Sierra Leone, Yakubu noted with pride that at the time, every country in the sub-region was under democratic rule.
Unfortunately, he observed, that is no longer the case, as four countries have since deviated from democratic governance. Nevertheless, he expressed optimism that democracy would soon return to those nations.
Yakubu also disclosed that this would be his final ECONEC meeting as INEC Chairman, with his tenure set to end later this year.
He thanked his colleagues and the Network for their unwavering support over the years and urged them to remain steadfast in upholding electoral integrity and regional solidarity.
Other EMB leaders echoed Prof. Yakubu’s call for stronger collaboration, praising ECONEC for its continued technical support and its role in promoting democratic stability across West Africa.
The Extraordinary General Assembly brought together the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of EMBs from Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
One of the key items on the agenda was the adoption of a revised draft of the ECONEC statutes.
A major proposal under consideration was the establishment of Africa’s first electoral resource-sharing database, an innovative initiative designed to enhance cooperation and capacity-building among EMBs across the continent.
