Liberian Polls: Jega Heads ECOWAS Observation Mission

A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been scheduled to lead the short-term ECOWAS Election Observation Mission for the Liberian presidential, senatorial and parliamentary elections fixed for Tuesday, 10 October, 2023.

A statement issued on Saturday, by the Executive Director of The Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, said Jega arrived in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, on Monday 2 October, 2023, and was welcomed by ECOWAS Resident Representative to Liberia, Ambassador Josephine Nkrumah.

“During his stay, the Head of the ECOWAS EOM and his team will hold working sessions with different stakeholders, including the National Elections Commission, government, civil society organisations, the media, security agencies, as well as political parties and candidates, to ensure the smooth conduct of the electoral process”, she said.

An estimated 2,471,617 voters out of Liberia’s population of 5.4 million were expected to elect the new President of Liberia, 15 Senators and 73 members of the House of Representatives.

By the provisions of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance relating to the observation of elections and ECOWAS assistance, the West African Organisation has deployed a 95-member election observation mission, comprising 80 short-term observers and 17 long-term observers.

The ECOWAS short-term observers are drawn from the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, the ECOWAS Parliament and the Community Court of Justice, Member States’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs, electoral management bodies and civil society organisations.

The role of the West African election observation mission deployed to Liberia is to monitor all pre-electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases of the election, to ensure that the electoral process complies with international best practice.