Heads of Int’l Election Observation Groups Compare Notes Ahead of Sunday Vote in Guinea-Bissau
By Paul Ejime
The heads of International Election Observation Missions met in Bissau on Saturday to share information and compare notes ahead of Guinea-Bissau’s legislative and presidential elections on Sunday.
The meeting co-chaired by Ambassador Baba Kamara, Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission and his African Union counterpart HE Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, was also attended by the West African Elders’ Forum led by the Chair and Convener of the Forum, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, accompanied by former ECOWAS Commission President Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Head of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) Observation Mission Lt.-Gen. Luis Diogo de Carvalho, his G7+G7+ counterpart Christina Mitini, and the ROJAE-CPLP, led by Mr Carlos Cauiu, Vice-President of the Electoral Commission of Mozambique.
Also in attendance were the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea-Bissau, Ambassador Ngozi Ukaeje, Ambassador Baba Jamal Ahmed, of the ECOWAS Permanent Representatives Committee, and Senator Edwin Snowe of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Ambassador Kamara informed the meeting that his mission’s stakeholder engagements included meetings with the President of the Republic, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is seeking re-election, representatives of opposition candidates and the National Electoral Commission, CNE, which assured the mission of its readiness for Sunday’s elections.
He said that ECOWAS had deployed 15 Medium-Term and 120 Short-Term Observers to Guinea-Bissau’s eight regions and the Bissau administrative Sector, for the polls.
From the reports of the heads of observation missions on their consultations with stakeholders, there was convergence of views on their preliminary findings and a common trend of challenges, including the exclusion of some candidates, the legitimacy of the acting CNE members and the volatility of the political ecosystem.
Despite these challenges, international observers noted that the campaigns ended without incidents, and the citizens looked forward to peaceful elections.
The meeting agreed that international observation missions should remain vigilant and hopeful for the peaceful atmosphere to continue through the post-election period.
In their interventions, former President Jonathan and Dr Chambas explained that the West African Elders Forum is not involved in conventional election observation, but engages in mediation, preventive diplomacy, and the building of trust among stakeholders to promote tolerance and consolidate peace and good governance in the region.
