By Ewurabena Paha
Election Monitoring Experts across Africa are unanimous in their decision that despite the numerous challenges that beset Africa’s politics and elections, the process is still fashionable.
Opening a two day election Monitoring Seminar in Accra, Former Advisor on Africa Region and the Sahel to the UN Secretary General, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas said going forward, only African Countries with resilient economies will be able to navigate issues likely to arrive before, during and after elections. It is therefore crucial for the Continent’s leaders to, at all cost, work to keep election violence at bay.
The Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation, EMAM project looked at regional lessons learned and the experience gathered by those appointed to monitor elections on the continent.
Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas said the Continent has come too far to ”be engaging stakeholders on ways to change regimes without trouble”.
Executive Director of WANEP, Coordinators of the Seminar Chukwuemeka Eze, said the current political situation in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso put the entire Continent on tenterhooks and does not speak of a region making dire efforts at consolidating its democratic gains.
The seminar, in the end, is expected to fine-tune a blueprint that will ensure effective Monitoring of Elections in Africa.
The three year EMAM project was funded with 3.5 million euros from the European Union.
