The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), the umbrella organisation of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in West Africa, holds its 6th Biennial General Assembly in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 6-7, 2019. The meeting is to be preceded by an International Symposium on the Promotion of Inclusivity in the Electoral Process holding on Monday in Abuja.

The event is featuring an array of dignitaries, among them Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr Jean-Claude Kassi Brou; and Vice-President, Finda Koroma. Others include Secretary General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Office in West Africa and the Sahel, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, and the Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr  Ketil Karlson.

The twin event is organised by ECONEC in collaboration with the Independent National   Electoral   Commission   (INEC),   Nigeria   and   the   European   Centre   for Electoral Support (ECES) with funding from the EU and the German Government.

“The symposium,” according to ECONEC Head of Communications, Mr Paul Ejime, “will provide a platform to discuss the legal frameworks and desirable practical steps for enhancing the participation and representation of women, youth and Persons with Disability (PWDs) in the electoral process in West Africa.”

The ECOWAS Commission and EMBs  in  West  Africa  set  up  ECONEC  in  2008, among other objectives to promote free and credible elections; promote independent and impartial election organisations and administrators; strengthen public confidence in the electoral process through free and credible electoral procedures, and to develop a crop of professional election personnel with integrity, a strong sense of public service and commitment to democracy.

The other objectives are to bring predictability to the framework for elections; engender commitment to the promotion and consolidation of democratic culture to create a conducive environment for the peaceful organisation of elections; encourage the sharing of   experiences, information, technology and election documents by EMBs and cooperation for  the improvement of electoral laws and practices.

The Network is also mandated to promote gradual harmonisation of electoral laws and   practices, as appropriate, capitalising on good practice in electoral matters; rationalisation and pooling of resources to reduce the cost of conducting elections; and to improve the working   conditions of its members in the fulfilment of their mandate.

Ejime said in a statement: “After several years of difficult existence due to poor funding and lack of a functional secretariat, the ECONEC governing board elected in March 2017 at its 5th General Assembly in Cotonou, Benin Republic, has managed  to  turn  the   fortunes  of  the Network around, raising its profile and visibility with demonstrable implementation of impactful activities.

“The agenda of the 6th General Assembly includes the election of a new board to replace the outgoing five-member team headed by Prof Mahmood Yakubu, Chair of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

In a related development, the INEC has revealed that it has been dragged to court more than 1,600 times in relation to the 2019 general elections.

This was disclosed by the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Yakubu, on Saturday after receiving an award for excellence from the Kaduna State chapter of the National Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

He noted that most of the cases stemmed from acrimonious political party primaries.

According to him, “we can have an election that is free, but elections start from party primaries because they produce the candidates for the general election. However, before the last general elections, we had some of the most acrimonious party primaries in the history of elections in Nigeria, resulting in a large number of litigations.

“As we speak, INEC has been dragged to court 809 times over the conduct of primaries by political parties. If you add that to the post-election litigations, we have so far been dragged to court over 1,600 times. So, we have been dragged to court over party primaries, the suits challenging the conduct of the election.

“That notwithstanding, elections can be free and fair; we are doing our best as an electoral commission, but INEC has its responsibilities clearly cut out, others have theirs, especially the political parties have theirs. But, working together, we will actually get to where we desire to be,” he said.