ECOWAS will be proactive in pre-electoral processes towards maintaining democracy in the region.
Dr Sidie Tunis, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament made this known on Thursday during a meeting with the ECOWAS Representative to the Republic Cape Verde in Praia.
The Communications department of the Parliament disclosed in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
The ECOWAS Parliament Speaker and his Delegation are currently on a Fact-finding mission to the country to assess pre-electoral processes, level of preparedness for the upcoming general elections, and to engage relevant stakeholders.
He revealed that most of the political issues unfolding in the region is as a result of agitations from elections or related issues, citing Mali as an example.
“The Malians started with a Presidential election but there were no issues and then the parliamentary elections came. That was where the instability started.
“The ECOWAS Parliament has learnt sufficient lessons from these election related crisis and has resolved to be proactive in terms of participating in pre-electoral processes all geared toward maintaining democracy in the region.
“Going forward, we are no longer going to sit in Abuja, we are going to ensure that we participate in pre-electoral processes”, Tunis said.
Tunis expressed Parliament’s willingness to work with the ECOWAS representatives in each country to assess the level of preparedness for elections, engage stakeholders, including civil society actors, media practitioners, and political candidates on the principles of democracy.
In his statement, Dr Samuel Lamptey ECOWAS Ambassador to Cape Verde noted that the Parliament’s mission to the country and The Gambia, ahead of elections in both countries is a timely move by the Speaker and his delegation.
Lamptey also praised Cape Verde for their conduct so far as no incident of violence or tensions has occurred.
He said that the electoral system of Cape Verde is structured in a way that after elections, all parties come together to support the government in developing the country.
Lamptey encouraged the ECOWAS Parliament to continue with its interventions in the sub-region, expressing optimism that the impacts of their efforts will be felt by every ECOWAS citizen.
The delegation also visited Dr. Austelino Correia, Acting President of Cape Verde who is also the Speaker of the Cape Veridian National Assembly.
Tunis and his delegation also had a working meeting with the General Directorate for Support in Electoral Process of Cape Verde.
(NAN)