[ad_1]
Ghana has presented 100,000 units of Election Pads to the Republic of Niger to support its second round of presidential elections scheduled for Sunday February 21.
Mr. Jonathan R. Magnusen, Ambassador of Ghana to Niger, handed the documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission of Niger (CENI) during a short ceremony in Niamey on Wednesday.
In a press release, Mr. Magnusen said Ghana was happy with the democratic path taken by the Nigerien people, which culminated in the December 2020 elections, hailed by stakeholders as generally free, fair and credible.
He said the high turnout in elections, especially the participation of women, was a demonstration of the will of the Nigerien people to strengthen and consolidate democracy, good governance, stronger democratic institutions and respect for rights. of man, justice and the rule of law.
Mr. Magnusen described the presentation as “another milestone in the long history of brotherhood, friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance” which has characterized relations between the two countries for more than a century. .
He recalled the pioneering efforts of the first Presidents of the two countries, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Mr. Hamani Diori of Niger, to unite the African continent with a common goal of African emancipation, human, social and economic development.
Both, he said, had a vision of all Africans seeing themselves as one people with a common destiny, regardless of cultural and linguistic differences as well as the artificial borders that separate countries.
Mr. Magnusen paid tribute to political parties, the state, parastatal institutions and civil society which have played an important role in facilitating the democratic process in Niger.
He commended the CENI for its efforts to ensure the success of the elections in December 2020, despite security, infrastructural and logistical challenges, and urged it to replicate the hard work of the second round of the elections.
Mr. Magnusen congratulated President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger for his decision not to seek the extension of his constitutional term of two terms.
“This decision won him the respect and admiration of the international community and placed him in the books of records as the first president of Niger to oversee the transfer of political power from a democratically elected president to another president. democratically elected ”. he said.
Mr. Issaka Souna, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Niger (CENI), who received the articles, expressed his deep gratitude to the President of Ghana for his rapid assistance in facilitating the second round of the presidential elections.
He explained that Ghana’s request for assistance was due to time pressure due to the constitutional deadline for the organization of the second round of presidential elections, as well as delays in international trade and procurement due to Covid-19. , which made it impossible to replenish resources in time for the elections.
Mr. Souna thanked Ghana for the spirit of generosity, brotherhood, solidarity and cooperation that “characterized the entire process of organizing and delivering the shipment to Niger”.
He noted that ECOWAS has put in place a common management system of electoral processes – mutual assistance and provision of goods and services by member states and said that Ghana’s support shows national solidarity and support. as well as a gesture within the framework of ECOWAS.
Mr. Souna expressed the hope that the ECOWAS mutual electoral assistance framework would be strengthened and called on the authorities and institutions of other ECOWAS member states to make the necessary efforts to work together in the management of electoral materials.
Source link
