Concord Times (Freetown)
Bhoyy Jalloh
7 February 2008
Freetown — President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas on Tuesday 5th February in Conakry 2008 pledged US$500,000 as a gesture of support to Guinea's National Electoral Commission.
The West African bloc has expressed hopes for the conduct of credible and transparent elections in the country.
The contribution will facilitate the functioning of the nascent Commission in meeting the high expectations of the people of Guinea, Dr Chambas said at the opening of the inaugural meeting of the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of National Electoral Commissions of Member States and other stakeholders.
"I wish to assure you of the full support of the ECOWAS Commission as you endeavour to undertake credible and transparent elections in the country," he told participants at the two-day meeting designed to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in the region in furtherance of the provisions of the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
The President described the meeting as part of the 'coherent and systematic programme' by ECOWAS to actualize the basic principles enshrined in the 2001 Protocol and other regional instruments to promote peace, stability, democracy and good governance.
Through these instruments, he added, the region envisages the creation of an atmosphere conducive for the realization of the core objectives of ECOWAS which was frustrated by the years of instability, strife and wars rooted in bad governance recently experienced in the region.
By adopting the 2001 Protocol, the President said regional leaders have demonstrated their determination to address the twin problems of conflicts and instability with its core values revolving mainly around zero tolerance for coups and unconstitutional seizure of power; orderly process of leadership succession and change through free, fair and transparent elections as well as respect for human rights.
He charged the participants to share experiences, agree on best practices and deliberate on the problems and challenges of National Electoral Commissions and the modalities for enhancing their capacities for better performance in the discharge of the collective responsibility of ensuring sustainable democratization in the region.
Guinea's Minster of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdoul Kabele Camara, used the opportunity to commend ECOWAS for its role in resolving the recent political crisis in the country and for the contribution to its electoral commission announced by the President of the Commission in his speech.
About 60 participants, including academics, electoral experts and civil society representatives, are attending the meeting, which is being supported by the European Union and OSIWA.
The meeting will formalize the creation of a regional network of electoral management bodies for the region, adopt the statute of the network and validate the ECOWAS Observer Handbook and Code of Conduct for election observers which were prepared by electoral experts at a meeting in October 2006 in Accra.
The proposal for the creation of the regional network of electoral management bodies emanated from a workshop in September 2005 jointly organized by ECOWAS and Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG) on 'Towards West African Electoral Management Bodies Networking with Electoral Stakeholders.'
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