Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that elections in the sub-region reflect the genuine wishes of the people at all times.
Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, gave the charge when the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who is also the President of ECONEC, led other members of the sub-regional electoral body on a visit to the leadership of the Senate in Abuja.
“I think that is an area we hope that ECONEC will be able to achieve,” Saraki said, adding, “As you rightly said, two major elections are coming up in Liberia and Sierra Leone and I hope that the ECONEC will be able to achieve some results that we will all be very proud of.”
He said it is time for the ECONEC to replicate in West Africa the advancement in other parts of the world where some hours after any election, the results can be accurately predicted based on the voting pattern at the polling units.
The Senate President said: “I think this is an area that we still have much work to do in Africa and the sub-region and that is the area too that creates a lot of violence where people know what they voted and they sit down in their homes and they hear another type of results.
“It portents danger for the entire continent and I hope that ECONEC will ensure that the wish of the people is what is announced as results. We will continue to support with legislations, funding and whatever is required to make sure you are successful,” he said.
