AS part of its determined effort to generate greater awareness about its mandate of promoting fair and credible elections in West Africa, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions, ECONEC, RESAO in French and Portuguese, has launched its new website along with other social media outreach tools. The tools are:

Website:    www.econec-resao.org

Twitter:     @econec_resao and

Facebook:  Econec­_Resao

According to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, president of the ECONEC Governing Board and Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, “the launch of these communication and visibility tools is consistent with our avowed commitment to position ECONEC as a robust organisation with the conscious involvement and participation of our regional Election Management Bodies, EMBs, and a platform to reach out and engage with ECOWAS community citizens.”

He posited that elections is a sovereign and collective responsibility that requires the active participation of all stakeholders – EMBs, political parties and candidates, security agencies, civil society organisations and the media, adding that external support by development partners is only meant to add value to the electoral process.

ECONEC is now operating from its new Secretariat in Abuja provided by INEC Nigeria following the official inauguration of the Secretariat during the meeting of the Governing Board in Abuja in July. The meeting also approved the 2017-2019 Work Plan of the Network.

Following, the Abuja meeting, Professor Yakubu, who was elected president of the five-member ECONEC governing board at the biannual General Assembly in Cotonou, Benin Republic in March 2017, led a delegation of the board on a Needs Assessment and Solidarity Missions to Liberia and Sierra, which are preparing for crucial elections in October 2017 and March 2018 respectively.

ECONEC was set up in 2008 with the main objective of promoting credible elections through experience sharing and peer-review amongst the EMBs of the 15 ECOWAS member States and also to facilitate gradual harmonisation of electoral administration, based on best practices, across the region.

Aug 11, 2017 @ 1:00 GMT