Ecowas Observers Deployed to Supervise the 2011 Legistlative And Presidential Elections in Niger

28 January 2011
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Niamey - Niger — At the request of the Government of the Republic of Niger and in accordance with the Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor GBEHO, dispatched an observation Mission for the supervision of the combined legislative and presidential elections scheduled for 31st January 2011 in Niger.

The Mission, led by the former Togolese Prime Minister Koffi Sama, aims at ensuring the credibility of the electoral process so as to enable free, credible and transparent elections. To this end, about 100 observers were mobilized from all ECOWAS Member States, except Niger and Cape Verde.

Thus, the Mission is made up, among others, of members of ECOWAS Court of Justice, the Community and Member States' Members of Parliament, members of ECOWAS Council of the Wise, legal experts and members of the civil society. It also includes members of the region's National Electoral Commissions, Ambassadors of ECOWAS Member States accredited to Niger as well as election observation experts trained by the Kofi ANNAN Centre in Accra, Ghana.

The observers will be deployed in the country's seven regions and in Niamey urban community in order to observe and monitor all the electoral operations and give an opinion of their conduct. This observation will particularly focus on the regularity of the legislative and presidential elections. At the completion of the elections, the Mission will express its opinion and, if necessary, make appropriate recommendations to improve the electoral process.

The ECOWAS Observation Mission has been in Niger since 23rd January 2011 and will stay until the announcement of the results. On Tuesday, 1st February 2011, the Head of the Mission will hold a press conference to express his opinion on the conduct of both elections. The Niger legislative and presidential elections will be held on Monday 31st January 2011.

For the presidential election, 10 candidates, including one woman, will run for office. This is a two-round election. ECOWAS calls upon the candidates, leaders of political parties, their supporters and sympathizers to ensure that the legislative and presidential elections are held in a peaceful and orderly manner.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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