Single EC for ECOWAS would save us billions - Mahama Ayariga

A member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament representing Ghana, Mahama Ayariga is calling for establishment of a single Electoral Commission (EC) for the West African sub-region to save it billions of funds.

“If we have a common EC for ECOWAS, with uniform codes that govern every election the standard will be the same, it will cost us less because for every country its own independent electoral system buy materials for election and is costly”

Mr. Mahama Ayariga made this remarks at the ongoing First Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Parliament for this year in Abuja Nigeria.

When we have a common system run by ECOWAS one set of material could move from country to country, where as the individual states use them only periodically and cost “our citizens so much money”, he lamented.

According to Mahama Ayariga countries in the community states would save billions they give out to Western countries in importing electoral materials and called for a motion to debate the issue adopted and forwarded to the Authority of Heads of States, for consideration and implementation.

He further pointed out that he knows the idea would take a long time because the Heads of States are worried about their individual “sovereignties and Authorities”.

“As we seek to establish democracy, if we do not establish a common democratic institutions that all of us can identify with, each country would do what it wants and forever and ever we would meet here, ever year to consider these reports, lament over the various problems in various countries over elections”.

In addition, when a President says he would hand over we are so quick to be excited and we congratulate him for deciding that he would hand over, “there should not be a question of whether the President would handover or not”.

He made this remarks in the wake of extension of Parliamentarian terms in office by a Presidential Decree in Guinea as they presented their country report.

As with the Mali report it was reveal that, it was going through political difficulties as there are post-electoral political crisis, there is extension of the mandate of legislators by six months.