ECOWAS COUNTRY REPORTS ON POLITICAL SITUATION: ELECTION IN MEMBER STATES DOMINATES REPORTS

MALI: New Law Incorporates Elements of the Peace Agreement in Mali

In the fulfillment of the ECOWAS Community’s Rules of Procedure in view of updating the Parliament on the political situation in Member States, the Plenary heard the delegations of Mali, Republic of Benin, Ghana and Cape Verde in day 5 of the ongoing Second Ordinary session.  This aspect of Country Reports was extensively discussed at the Plenary as the issue of elections in Mali, and Cape Verde were raised.

In the Mali’s Report, it was stated that the President of Mali is consulting with groups within his ruling party, leader of the opposition party, the country’s main trade union body and some religious leaders in an attempt to further strengthen national cohesion and the restoration of peace in line with the Algiers Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

According to an excerpt of the Report, “the new law incorporates elements of the peace agreement, especially those aspects relating to interim authorities and the ability to hold local elections in areas of the country where elections are possible”. Clearly, this assertion was directed towards resting any doubt with regards to the question of rebel incursion in some territories of the country and the possibility of an election in such areas as raised by Hon. Sama Joseph (Burkina Faso) during the debates.

BENIN: Presidential Election Held in a Peaceful Atmosphere in Benin

Hon. Bida Youssoufou has assured the Plenary that there is “a working democracy in the Republic of Benin”. This statement followed the presentation of the Country Report by Hon. Yibatou Sani Glele who stated that “Benin is one of the countries in the sub-region with a stable and calm political situation”. According to the Report, “the March 2016 Presidential election was held in a climate of calm, with high rate of participation by the people (66%)”.

It was observed that no major incident was encountered by both national and international observers. Accordingly, “the transition was done in a festive mood”. It can be recalled that the Legislative and local elections which held in 2015 were adjudged to be “free and fair”, the Report stated.

GHANA: Parliament rejects Proposed Election Date, as Ghana Prepares for Elections

The December 7 2016, Election Day in Ghana has remained sacrosanct, this was following the Electoral Commission’s (EC) proposal to change the date to November 7 of this year, which was rejected by the Parliament.

According to Hon. Alfred Kwame Agbesi (Leader of the Ghana’s group of Parliamentarians), the reason for the proposed change in date was to accommodate more time for post-election litigation by aggrieved candidates.  However, political observers have predicted that the presidential election is expected to be transparent and generally peaceful judging by ongoing campaign activities of the two major political parties – the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

CAPE VERDE: Cape Verde Set to Witness a 20 Year Electoral Reoccurrence History… opposition party wins absolute majority in parliament

The year 2016 is generally referred to as a phenomenal year in the political calendar of Cape Verde. This is because of the general election (Legislative, Municipal and the Presidential) that is being carried out in the country. Legislative elections were held on 20 March 2016, followed by the Municipal elections which occurred on 4^th September 4,2016, with Cape Verdeans heading to the polling unit once more on October 2 2016, for the Presidential election.  These electoral events are particularly historical as such special phenomenon in which the country holds all of its election in the same year occurs every twenty (20) years, in accordance with the provisions of the country’s Constitution.

According to the Constitutional provisions of the Republic of Cape Verde on the duration in office of elected officials, a 5-year tenure is stipulated for the Presidency and the Legislature respectively, while that of the Municipal is for 4 years.

On the other hand, the opposition party, the Movement for Democracy (MPD) “has won an absolute majority at the general elections after being in the opposition for fifteen years.” “The party elected forty (40) of the seventy-two (72) Members of the Cape Verdean Parliament, while the PAICV elected twenty-nine (29) and the UCID, three (3)”, the Report revealed.

At the Municipal elections, “the MPD elected eighteen (18) of a total of twenty-two (22) authorities, while Independent Candidates (sympathetic to the MPD) were elected to two municipal authorities, and the leading party PAICV elected only two. It is recorded that the electoral process has run in a transparent, free and fair manner, and in strict compliance with and respect for the laws of the Republic.