Ecowas observer mission commends Malians for successful parliamentary elections

The Ecowas Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Mali’s second-round Parliamentary polls on 15th December has commended Malians for their peaceful conduct and the “imminent successful conclusion of the political transition” in the country following its security and political crises from last year.

 In its 14-point Preliminary Declaration, the 50-member Mission led by Prof. Amos Sawyer, Liberia’s former President of Government of National Unity, adjudged the elections as “having taken place in acceptable conditions of freedom and transparency,” adding that “some incidents” observed in a few polling stations and the “low voter turnout did not in any way lower the conduct of the elections below internationally accepted standards.”

 I am optimistic that Mali is on the right path,” Prof. Sawyer said at a press conference after the release of the Declaration.He described the elections as “another milestone in the rebuilding of democratic institutions that should be accompanied by national dialogue and reconciliation,” noting that with the support of the international community mobilized by ECOWAS, much progress would be achieved.


Source: AFP