NEEDS assessment: Nigeria leads ECONEC team for talks with Ivorian Commission

By Emeka Nze

Abuja

A delegation of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) has met with the management team of the Commission Electorale Independante of Cote d’Ivoire (CEI)) in Abidjan.
A statement yesterday by Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi stated that ECONEC President and Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, led the team.
The Needs Assessment meeting took place at the CEI’s instance and was intended among others, to ascertain the specific areas where the regional body could intervene to assist the CEI realise its objectives.
The consultation is also coming on the heels of Liberia’s general elections held on October 10, where ECONEC played a significant role, having carried out a Needs Assessment tour several weeks before the polls.
Yakubu, in his capacity as ECONEC President, was in Monrovia with a strong INEC team to observe the polls.
ECONEC is the umbrella organisation of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in West Africa and was founded in 2008 to promote free, fair and credible elections.
The organisation’s theory of change is anchored on its belief that “if West African election managers are able to learn from the experiences of one another, continuously develop their capacities through training, pool their resources and support each other, then their ability to deliver fair and credible polls will be increased and the quality of elections in West Africa will be improved.”
Besides, it seeks to, among others, promote the concept of independent and impartial election organisations and administrators, strengthen public confidence in the electoral process through free, credible electoral procedures and develop professional election officials with integrity, a strong sense of public service and commitment to democracy.

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