Former President of South Africa, H.E. Thabo Mbeki, will lead a team of Commonwealth election observers to Nigeria, which will be holding Africa’s largest democratic exercise later this month when it holds general elections on 25 February 2023.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, constituted the Commonwealth Observer Group following an invitation from Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission.
As of January 2023, an estimated 93.4 million registered voters will have the right to cast ballots for presidential and national assembly candidates in 176,846 polling units across 774 local government areas.
Peaceful governance
Announcing the group, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said:
“The Commonwealth remains a committed and reliable partner in Nigeria’s continuing journey towards peaceful democratic governance. Since 1999, we have observed all six general elections in Nigeria and the deployment of this observer group is a testament to the Commonwealth’s enduring support for the promotion of the culture, processes and institutions of democracy in Nigeria.
“In accordance with the values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter, the work of the group seeks to promote transparency, strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and protect the right of the people of Nigeria to participate in credible, transparent and inclusive elections to shape their society.
“This month’s elections hold immense significance not just for Nigeria, but for the entire African continent and the wider democratic world. It is, therefore, essential that all stakeholders in Nigeria reaffirm their shared commitment to ensuring a peaceful election environment which is conducive to the free exercise of people’s franchise and in which fundamental freedoms and rights are respected.”
She also expressed her appreciation to President Mbeki for accepting her invitation to lead the group and to each observer for agreeing to undertake this important assignment on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Observer group
The Commonwealth Observer Group comprises 16 eminent persons from around the Commonwealth, including politicians, diplomats and experts in law, human rights, gender equality and election administration. The full team is listed below.
The observers will be in Nigeria from 18 February to 2 March 2023. They will be supported by a staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat led by Joshua Setipa, Senior Director of the Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Division.
The Commonwealth Observer Group members, in alphabetical order by country name, are:
The Commonwealth Observer Group members, in alphabetical order by country name, are:
- H.E. Thabo Mbeki (Chairperson), Former President, South Africa
- Ian Browne, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral and Boundaries Department, Barbados
- Hon. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Botswana
- Dr Andrew Knight, Distinguished Professor, Fulbright scholar and expert in terrorism and security, Canada
- Tara Chetty, Human rights and gender expert, Fiji
- Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director, Institute for Democratic Governance, Ghana
credit: Commonwealth
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