Guinea-Bissau’s elections: ECOWAS congratulates Guineans for sense of civility and participation
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) electoral observation mission to Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau congratulated Guineans for the “sense of civism” and participation in Sunday’s ballot.
“The mission recorded a relatively strong participation rate and verified the peaceful and participatory nature of the ballot and the good command of voting procedures,” said Jorge Carlos Fonseca, former president of Cape Verde and head of the ECOWAS electoral observation mission, in a preliminary statement read at a hotel unit in Bissau.
In the preliminary statement, the ECOWAS electoral observation mission congratulates the “Government and the electoral management bodies for following the electoral schedule despite financial and technical difficulties.”
According to Jorge Carlos Fonseca, the “sense of civism shown by the Guineans”, namely their discipline and “remarkable participation”, contributed to the “peaceful and serene course of the electoral ballot”.
“The mission congratulates all concerned parties to continue working in synergy to consolidate political stability and promote the country’s development,” it said.
The election observation mission recommended that Guinean institutions improve the country’s legal framework and urged parties involved in the electoral process to “respect the regulatory channels of publication of results,” the signed agreements, and to “refrain from any proclamation of results outside the official channels.”
ECOWAS sent a long-term electoral mission to Guinea-Bissau, consisting of 13 electoral experts who will remain in the country to manage the period after the results are released, and a short-term one, which included 60 international observers.
Guinea-Bissau currently presides over ECOWAS, which also includes Lusophone Cape Verde, as well as Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo.
Almost 900,000 Guinean voters were called to the polls Sunday to choose the country’s next 102 deputies from among candidates put forward by 20 parties and two coalitions.
The National Elections Commission (CNE) will release provisional election results on Wednesday.
With information from Lusa
News Guinea-Bissau, English news Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Bissau’s elections
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