The West Africa Democracy Solidarity (WADEMOS) Network will from February 21- 27, 2023, deploy a technical team of experts to observe the Nigerian national elections slated for February 25, 2023. The elections would be the sixth consecutive presidential elections held in Nigeria since the country’s return to multiparty democracy in 1999.
Led by Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, the WADEMOS Network Project Director, the election observation team is comprised of representatives from the Secretariat in Accra-Ghana, the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) in Liberia, and the National Elections Watch (NEW) in Sierra Leone.
The purpose of the election observation is to consolidate the gains from the pre-election solidarity mission and to promote and sustain learning among the Network members, especially around the deployment of the new technology and related reforms peculiar to the 2023 elections.
“The elections come at a time when the ECOWAS sub-region is facing serious threats to democracy resulting in its dwindling quality. With Sierra Leone and Liberia also preparing for their elections in June and October, respectively, it is important for Nigeria to start right and set the best possible example for the sub-region,” Professor Prempeh remarked.
Following WADEMOS’ pre-election solidarity mission to Nigeria, the Network shared its observations, conclusions, and recommendations with the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC), the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), and other stakeholders it engaged with. We are, therefore, eager to learn and pick up valuable lessons, especially in light of the upcoming elections in West Africa.
Whiles in Nigeria, the team will liaise with the Network’s local members; namely Center for Democracy and Development West Africa (CDD-West Africa), Yiaga Africa, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) in monitoring the elections.
Nigeria holds its elections in two phases. The first phase, which is scheduled to take place on February 25, will see the election of a new President and members of the House of Representatives and Senate. The second phase, known as the sub-national election, will be for the election of state assemblies and Governors on March 11, 2023.
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About WADEMOS Network
WADEMOS is a non-partisan, independent civil society-led transnational democracy solidarity network. The WADEMOS Network consists of over 30 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) located in 16 countries in West Africa. WADEMOS mobilizes, coordinates, and leverages the collective power of civil society and other pro-democracy actors, resources, and opportunities within the West African Region to advance, defend, and reinvigorate democracy and promote democratic norms and reforms in the sub-region.
