Bissau, November 22, 2019. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed seventy observers for the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (ECOWAS-EOM) to the Presidential Election in Guinea Bissau. This deployment was done today, November 22, 2019 in Bissau, Guinea Bissau ahead of the November 24th Presidential Election.

Delivering a goodwill message at the opening, Dr. Remi Ajibewa, Director Political Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, expressed the determination of the ECOWAS Commission to accompany Guinea Bissau through the Presidential Elections in line with the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance of 2001.

Dr. Ajibewa highlighted that ECOWAS as part of electoral assistance programme to Member States deployed technical experts and financial support to Guinea Bissau.
Adding that the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, approved the deployment of a pre-election fact-finding mission, 10 long-term election observers and 60 short-term observers to support and monitor the entire electoral process.

Head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to the Guinea Bissau Presidential election, H.E. Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali in his welcome address stressed that ECOWAS has more than the political will to support Guinea Bissau to conduct a credible, peaceful and transparent election. Adding that determination of the ECOWAS and its Heads of State made it possible to arrive at this stage of the evolution of the electoral process in Guinea Bissau.

Highlighting that one of the achievements all must be proud of is the organization of the legislative elections of March 10, 2019, which he said represented the first step towards ending the political crisis in Guinea Bissau.

The ECOWAS Commission has supported the Presidential election with 1.5 million US Dollars and the pre-electoral, long and short-term observers and technical team provided credible, real-time analyses and substantial recommendation, which helped to create an atmosphere of public trust, and encouraged citizen participation.