Ouagadougou - Burkina Faso — A 75-member ECOWAS Observer Mission has arrived in Burkina Faso to observe the presidential elections, which will take place on Sunday, 21st November 2010.
Members of the observer mission, headed by former Togolese Prime Minister, Mr. Kofi Sama, include representatives of the ECOWAS Parliament, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, ECOWAS Member States, civil society electoral experts as well as representatives of ECOWAS Ambassadors.
The observers will be deployed to all the 13 regions and 45 provinces of the country to observe how the 3, 239, 774 registered voters elect their next president. The observer mission is expected to meet with the National Electoral Commission, governmental officials, security agencies, diplomatic missions and civil society organizations to exchange views.
Under its Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, ECOWAS is required to dispatch observer missions to Member States conducting presidential elections as part of its determination to ensure democratic convergence across the region.