Dakar, Nov 19 (APS) – The joint observation mission of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) welcomed Tuesday in Dakar the “high sense” of the patriotism of the Senegalese and the peaceful behavior of the stakeholders in the process which led to the “smooth” holding of the early legislative elections on Sunday.
”The joint AU and ECOWAS observation mission welcomes the high sense of patriotism and peaceful behavior demonstrated by stakeholders and voters throughout the electoral process,” declared Roland Kouassi. Amoussouga Géro.
He proceeded to read the introductory statement which will be followed by a final report in the presence of the head of the African Union mission, Ambassador Calixte Aristide Mbari, the Ambassador of Togo to Nigeria, Léné Dimban and the representative of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).
The mission notes that the voting process generally took place ”smoothly and in a largely peaceful atmosphere” allowing voters to exercise ”their right to vote without hindrance”.
Observers nevertheless deplored the fact that ”certain polling stations (20.52%) were not easily accessible to people with reduced mobility, in particular the elderly”.
They magnified the ”efficiency” of the authorities and bodies responsible for organizing ”in the conduct and coordination” of electoral operations which resulted in a smooth running of the vote.
ECOWAS and the AU also praised the “fair play” of political actors, particularly the unsuccessful candidates who congratulated the Pastef party, which came in first after the vote count, even before the official announcement of the results.
The joint ECOWAS and AU mission, however, made some recommendations to the competent Senegalese authorities ”in order to consolidate its democratic credentials, particularly with regard to the management of elections in the country”.
She urges the Senegalese authorities to adopt ”a single ballot paper which could contain all candidates and/or symbols of parties and coalitions in order to reduce the use of multiple ballot papers and the possible reduction of costs linked to the ‘purchase and printing of electoral materials”.
Observers ask the Senegalese public authorities to provide during the next elections ”adequate facilities to allow people with reduced mobility to access polling stations without hindrance in order to guarantee inclusion in the electoral process”.
The head of the ECOWAS-AU joint mission, Francis Alex Tsegah, considers that the joint mission in Senegal was very “fruitful”. He said he hoped that the observations and recommendations on the ground would be implemented by the respective authorities.
The joint AU and ECOWAS observation mission deployed 140 members divided into 43 teams grouped in the 14 regions of Senegal to observe the progress of the early legislative elections of November 17.
FD/AKS/MTN
