Ahead of the 7 December 2024 General Elections in Ghana, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) is deploying a joint peer support and learning mission with the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF SADC) from 3 – 10 December 2024 in Accra.
The Mission, comprising of Chairpersons and Commissioners from the Electoral Commissions of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana, aims to demonstrate the solidarity of West African Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) towards the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, and provide moral support to its Chairperson at this crucial time. The Mission also provides a platform for cross regional learning, harmonisation of efforts and dissemination of best electoral practices between the two EMB networks.
During their stay, the members of the Mission will hold working sessions with various stakeholders in the electoral process, including the Electoral Commission, Government, civil society organizations, the media, security agencies, as well as the ECOWAS and African Union Election Observation Missions and other International Election Observer Missions that are present in the country, in order to ascertain the smooth conduct of the process.
The 7 December 2024 polls will allow Ghana's 18,774,159 registered voters to elect the sixth President of the 4th Republic and 270 Members of Parliament.
The joint ECONEC-ECF mission is being deployed with technical and financial support from the Strengthening Pan-African Capacities for Election Observation and Assistance (SPEC) project funded by the European Union and implemented by International IDEA.
The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) is the umbrella organization for electoral management bodies (EMBs) in West Africa. Founded in February 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections, the Network draws on the 1991 ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles on Freedom, Peoples' Rights and Democratization to strengthen electoral processes in West Africa.
The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), in keeping with its mandate to promote free, fair and credible elections in West Africa, is holding its annual symposium on the theme “Information integrity and electoral integrity: What role for EMBs in the era of social media?” in Freetown, Republic of Sierra Leone, from 11th to 12th November 2024, which will be followed by its 10th General Assembly.
The meeting will be organized in the form of panel discussions on specific themes with the aim of critically assessing the role of electoral management bodies (EMBs) in promoting information integrity as an essential aspect of protecting electoral integrity. The General Assembly, meanwhile, will afford ECONEC members the opportunity to review and assess the activities implemented in 2024.
The 2024 ECONEC symposium will bring together the Chairpersons and communication directors of ECONEC member EMBs, representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, thematic experts, civil society organizations (CSOs), the media and technical partners involved in electoral assistance, including the African Union, the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF-SADC), International IDEA, IFES, EISA, CHR and UNDP.
Discussions at the ECONEC 2024 symposium will serve as a basis for developing a Policy Brief on managing access to information during the electoral processes in West Africa.
The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions(ECONEC) is the umbrella organization ofelectoral management bodies (EMBs) in West Africa. The network was created in February 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections. Its creation was inspired by the ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles, which was adopted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in 1991.
As part of its mandate to promote free, transparent, and credible elections in the West African region, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commission (ECONEC) is deploying a hybrid post-election follow-up and needs assessment mission to Cotonou, Benin, from September 15 to 21, 2024.
The Mission is comprised of the President of Senegal's Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), a representative of Côte d'Ivoire's Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the Head of ECOWAS' Electoral Assistance Division (EAD), who is also ECONEC Permanent Secretary, and three experts from ECONEC Permanent Secretariat, IDEA and EISA.
The mission aims to assess the state of implementation of the recommendations of the last ECOWAS electoral observation mission during the April 2021 Presidential Election and the technical and material needs of stakeholders in the run-up to the 2026 presidential election.
To this end, the mission will hold meetings with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), the administration, political parties and civil society organizations to understand their views and commitment to implementing the recommended reforms.
The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions( ECONEC) is the umbrella organization for electoral management bodies (EMBs) in West Africa. The network was created in February 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections. Its creation was inspired by the ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles, which was adopted by the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government in 1991.
In keeping with its mandate to promote free, transparent and credible elections in West Africa, the ECOWAS network of Electoral commission (ECONEC), one of whose means of action is the implementation of capacity-building programs, is organizing a BRIDGE facilitators' training workshop (TtF) from August 20 to 31, 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The workshop brings together training directors from election management bodies (EMBs) in ECOWAS member countries, electoral experts from across the West African region, staff from the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) and the ECONEC Permanent Secretariat.
The aim of the workshop is to equip EMBs in ECOWAS member states with sustainable training capabilities, and to help develop an easily accessible pool of BRIDGE-accredited trainers in the West African region.
The workshop will follow the BRIDGE training methodology, which combines interactive discussions and practical group exercises. The various sessions will be interspersed with ice-breakers and reminders.
The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions( ECONEC) is the umbrella organization for electoral management bodies (EMBs) in West Africa. The network was created in February 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections. Its creation was inspired by the ECOWAS Declaration of Political Principles, which was adopted by the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government in 1991.
In line with its mandate to promote free, transparent and credible elections in West Africa, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), has deployed a peer support and learning mission to Senegal ahead of the 24 March 2024 presidential election.
