Month: October 2021

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, has recommended the revision of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance to prohibit all forms of political maneuvering to hold on to power beyond constitutional limits.

The Parliament made the recommendation at the end of its High-level Seminar on “Two decades of Democratic Elections in ECOWAS Member States: Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward” on Friday, October 15, 2021 in Winneba, Ghana.

The recommendation was contained in the communique on the outcome of the Seminar which was read by Mr. Zargo Stephen, a Member of Parliament from Liberia.

The recommendation for a revised protocol to prohibit tenure elongation is coming after the phenomenon has been seen to be the leading cause of the disruption of democratic rule in Mali and Guinea.

Members of parliament and experts also recommend that for the consolidation of Democracy and Good Governance, the process of the election of Members of the community Parliament should be by Direct Universal Suffrage.

To ensure consolidation of Democracy and Good Governance, they also recommended that “a study be conducted for the adoption of regional standards to govern electoral processes. Such as “an effective independence of election management agencies, the partiality of courts that sits on electoral disputes, regulation of electoral campaigns, computerization of electoral registers and use of voters’ card.”

There should also be compliance with the quota or gender equality system to enhance women’s representation in decision-making bodies, including the ECOWAS Parliament.

On the role of civil society and non-state actors in elections, they cautioned civil societies, political parties and electoral candidates against disclosure of results before the body mandated to do so.

“There should be an adoption of mechanisms to ensure adequate participation of Civil Society in democratic process; such as the protection of the members of civil society organisations, transparent financing, regular cooperation and consultation of civil society and the promotion of its mediation role between communities and political actors.”

They also recognized the critical role of media during elections, with recommendations on how, and what they should do to ensure the conduct of credible elections.

They stressed the need for greater monitoring of social media during electoral periods and the repression of their abusive use in order to prevent any media misstep due to disinformation and the spread of fake news.

Other recommendations include:

• Equal access to official media and public services by all electoral candidates to enable them know their programs and views to the electorates.

• Adoption of legal frameworks to guarantee press freedom and to compel media professionals to strict adherence of their ethics, capacity building for media professionals, sensitization of the populace.

• Taking cognizance of the role of security services, the recommended that measures be adopted to guarantee the independence and neutrality of security services and their involvement as stake holders in the security process.

• There should be provision of adequate material, human and financial resources to security services and their capacity building.

• Promotion of cooperation and collaboration among security services of ECOWAS Member States to share best practices in electoral security”.

On the role of the judiciary, they recommended the consolidation of the independence and impartiality of the justice system by national parliaments through adequate legislations.

On the role of political parties, it was recommended that ECOWAS Member States institute a national dialogue framework to help unite political actors, democratic governance of political parties.

They said it is important that there is transparency in party financing, and separation of their resources and activities from that of government.

They also recommended the strengthening and consolidation of election observation systems before, during and after elections. This, they said can be achieved by improving the deployment strategies of observers, cooperation of various international and local observer missions and the quality of expertise of members of observer missions.

The outcome of the Seminar contained inputs from Members of Parliaments, the ECOWAS Commission, Experts and Stakeholders across relevant sectors.

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Mr. Malcom Joseph, Executive Director, Center for Media Studies and Peace building, Liberia has called on Journalists in ECOWAS Countries to set the agenda for credible elections in their countries.

Joseph made this known while delivering a paper on “The role of the media in elections in the region” during the just ended High-level seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Winneba, Ghana.

He said that the media plays a critical role to the continuation of democracy in the ECOWAS sub-region and should live by their mandate as agenda setters. The media should be the agenda setter in the electioneering process of the region.

“The media is extremely pivotal to the continuation of democracy in West Africa. That is a fact that cannot be contradicted,” Joseph said.

And further said that the media over the years have successfully carried out its functions as watchdog, overseeing and monitoring electoral processes pre-election, during elections and post-election.

He said that during elections, the media is very much present and visible at polling units, covering activities, and monitoring of the ballot until the final point.

Mr. Joseph however noted that media in West African countries still face very real internal and external challenges in performing its role of ensuring that democracy is preserved in the country.

He listed some of the challenges to include; interference from authorities of power, inadequate funding to be independent, being aligned to a particular political interest amongst others.

He explained that media house in opposition most times bear the brunt, as they are sometimes denied registration or have their licenses revoked on flimsy grounds.

Though the media in the sub-region has done a lot to highlight the challenges that democracy faces, the strong arm of governments in various countries have made the work quite difficult.

In Nigeria, several journalists have been harassed and imprisoned by the government in recent years.

In the Republic of Guinea, the situation was not better with the media outlets either closed or threatened with closure in the lead up to the controversial elections of 2020.

“In Togo, media houses were closed, and the Supreme Court upheld their closure, even though there were claims that the decision was spurious and politically motivated,”.

Mr. Joseph however, urged Journalists not to relent, stating that it is their responsibility to shine a torch on indiscretions and corruptions that occur in the electoral process.

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Lawmakers representing Nigeria at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament have commended the sustained democratic rule in Nigeria which should be an example to other countries in the sub-region.

The lawmakers made this known on Sunday in an interview with journalists following the High-level Seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Winneba, Ghana.

The lawmakers called for more powers to be vested in ECOWAS institutions, parliament, commission and court to take firm actions on situations in member states.

Mr. Awaji-Inombek Abiante representing Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency, Rivers said that Nigeria’s democracy has recorded huge successes, a model ECOWAS could use as a guide to other countries in the sub-region.

“In Nigeria for the past twenty years, we have been able to sustain civilian rule, democracy and I think that is what we should celebrate first. Hoping that all hands will be on deck to turn the tides and ensure that the very pedestal demands and challenges are overcome”.

ECOWAS as a body of State can help to encourage each other by doing what we are doing exactly; peer review essentially, to copy the best practices from other persons, improve upon what we are doing.

There is a saying that no matter how bad democracy is, it is still better than other forms of governments, and that more powers should be given to ECOWAS as it does not have that strength in terms of the legal instruments to take firm actions.

At best we have today, it still remains persuasive, even if we make the laws, how many countries are willing to surrender their sovereignty into this and say come in and do whatever you want to, he stated.

“As at today, the status does not give those guarantee that anybody can say ECOWAS will come in. All ECOWAS could do was to advise, work with the regime and demand expectations within timelines. And if, they do not comply, the best you can do is suspend them from the body and that does not solve the problem”.

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Mr. Abdul Fatoma, Executive Director, Campaign for Human Rights and Development International of Sierra Leone has said that ECOWAS citizens demand more sincerity from the various institutions in managing democracy in the sub-region.

Mr. Fatoma made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Winneba, Ghana, at the high-level meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Mr. Abdul Fatoma who is also the team leader for Election Conflict Prevention and Mediation Group said ECOWAS citizens are gradually losing trust of the institutions, especially in promoting their rights.

This, he said is coming from the loss of democratic rule in Mali and Guinea which is yet to be restored by ECOWAS institutions.

“ECOWAS Citizens want the ECOWAS Institutions, the Community and the Parliament to be sincere to citizens of ECOWAS, and also promote issues that will promote the rights of all ECOWAS Citizens during elections, after elections and for us to continue having a stable region”, he said.

According to him, ECOWAS has been inconsistent in promoting and managing democracy in the sub-region, the insincerity from the institutions has created discontent between the citizens and the ECOWAS institutions. “It is only now that ECOWAS is getting more closer to its citizens through the ECOWAS Parliament, and if we are getting out this closer, I think it is our obligation to continue urging the ECOWAS institutions to be sincere with themselves and look at the issues that are going on within the sub-region that are not really good for the ECOWAS citizens and the region at large,” Fatoma said.

In addition, he urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Member States to be very much involved in electoral processes pre-election, during election and post-election work to ensure credible and violence-free elections in their counties.

Mr. Fatoma said his coalition have been working with the Sierra Leone Electoral Commission to see how best to minimize violence during elections.

“We have done 14 bye-elections, no major incidences of violence have been reported, the results have not been contested or neither a petition or discredited, out of that, the opposition have won five against the ruling parties, the ruling parties have won others also, and the opposition have accepted those wins as a fair deal”.

Again, because of our earlier involvement before the elections, during the elections and after the elections. This is a model that was introduced late last year November by the new Electoral Commissioner in Sierra Leone.

To see how best he will be able to use such strategies to minimize violence in our country’s body elections, and gradually he has been successful doing that,” Fatoma said.

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Minister of Sierra Leone’s New Western Region, Madam Nabeela Tunis has called on her counter Ministers in the Greater Accra and Central Region of Ghana, Henry Quartey and Justina Marigold Assan respectively.

According to the former Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister of Sierra Leone, the visit is to establish a firm relationship with her Ghanaian counterparts to enable them establish a smooth flow of exchanges.
Her first visit was to the Greater Accra to meet with Henry Quartey where they had productive discussions and shared experiences.

Mr. Quartey on his part pointed out the need to focus on collaborating with the local authorities in their respective regions and further pointed out his preparedness to collaborate with her counterpart.

Mrs. Nabeela Tunis noted that she is at an advantageous position because she would learn from mistakes and take into account new ideas, and added that the system in Sierra Leone is different from that of Ghana.

“One thing that is good in our own situation is that we have been given the liberty to build the ministry from scratch, so some of the challenges that they have been faced with will be dealt with from the get go”, she noted.

Madam Tunis also pointed out that she and her team has put all the necessary structures in place, carefully crafting a system that would lean on existing expertise. She reported that her outfit would liaise with officers designated within the various MDAs to avoid duplication.

She also disclosed that more focus will be placed on facilitation, collaboration, monitoring and evaluation of government programs rather than implementation.
Additionally, they would be looking forward to developing a regional plan with the people next year; a regional plan that will not only incorporate their inputs but also reflect the medium term national development plan.

Meanwhile, on her visit to the Central Regional Coordinating Council and Minister to the Central Region, Justina Marigold Assan, Minister Tunis reemphasized the importance of ensuring coordination with all stakeholders including the district heads, tribal and village authorities, elected officials, civil society, and the people to ensure ownership for development strides. She also noted that development is for the people and the only way they could take ownership is to get involved themselves.

“The Regional Ministry is a new phenomenon to Sierra Leone and I strongly believe in coordinating with all and sundry to achieve the ultimate goal of inclusive governance” Minister Tunis highlighted.

She used the opportunity to call for stronger partnerships across all spheres to achieve development for all, and noted that her outfit would support, complement and direct development for the people.

Ending her visits, the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assin applauded Minister Tunis for her wealth of knowledge in the new mandate given to her, urging her to ensure partnership with donor partners and local authorities. She assured her of a continuous relationship between the two institutions and extended an invitation to her for a visit and tour of her region.

The visit was climaxed with decoration and presentation of gifts to Minister Tunis, the former Planning and Economic Development Minister for leaving an indelible foot print as a hard-working person, hence her appointment by President Maada Bio as Minister for a New Western Region.

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Dr Sidie Tunis, Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament has encouraged community citizens to take the COVID-19 vaccines and shun all forms of conspiracy theories as vaccines are very safe.

Dr. Tunis made the call on Monday in Winneba, Ghana at the opening of the Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament to consider and adopt the Parliament’s Draft Budget for the year 2022.

He said that the call for the citizens to get vaccinated is important as cases continue to surge across the sub-region.

“As it stands, the third wave of the pandemic seems to be stabilizing across our states, but cases are still high with the West African Health Organization (WAHO) reporting a total of 649,077 cases across the region as of Oct. 14, 2021.”

“On the vaccine front, more doses are getting into arms daily, and we seize this moment to appreciate our partners under the COVAX initiative and friendly Governments that have donated doses to African countries.”

He, however, noted that the percentage of African population fully vaccinated, which is a little over 2.47%, according to the Africa Center for Disease Control, is appallingly low, compared to those unvaccinated.

“Much as the unavailability of the vaccine is an issue to consider, we also frown at the conspiracy theories that have created fear of the vaccines in our population.”

“I therefore, wish to use this podium, as I have always done, to send a clear message to our citizens that the vaccines are safe and should be taken once they are available,” Tunis said.

The community parliament, he noted has continued to examine the COVID-19 pandemic more closely and is very concerned about the region falling deeper into recession as a result of the pandemic.
This, he added, will ultimately erase the progress we have made over the past two decades.

Hon. Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament urged Members of Parliament to recommend programmes that will alleviate the sufferings of the citizens, especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic while considering the budget.

Babgin who was represented by Hon. Joesph Osei-Owsu said that the recommendations will largely influence the budgetary implementation for the proposed programmes and activities of the institution.

“I wish to emphasise that your programmes should alleviate the sufferings of the citizens and reduce their burdens in these trying times, especially those adversely impacted by the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We must continue to address poverty in all its ramifications and create job opportunities for the people,” Mr. Babgin said.

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Mr. Johnson Kwaku Adu, a member of Ghana’s delegation on the Health Committee of the Community Parliament is unhappy that the committee has not met to have any discussion in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the West African sub-region.

According to him the Committee has to be proactive; “I think the chairman of our committee is not doing us any good, we have to meet and have discussions before we leave the Extraordinary Session, and we need to create a platform to talk about issues”.

He noted that since the coronavirus pandemic is still around, as a committee there should be some discussions, and interacting with the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) on the way forward. “COVID is still with us we should be having discussions on measures and strategies we need to adopt as a sub-region to combat it”. Again, the “committee should meet before we leave the Extraordinary Session”.

As to whether language barrier can partly be blamed because the chairman of the committee is from Cape Verde, a Portuguese speaking country? He said, “it is also part of the problem, but I do not think it should be a problem because we have interpreters around to help us have a conversation, same way we can have a WhatsApp platform to have this conversation”.

 Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com