The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) plans to send youth election observers to Nigeria’s 2027 polls, according to Serigne Ka, head of the regional organisation’s electoral assistance division.
Ka outlined the proposal at an elections and democracy discussion in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday, October 3. TheCable reported his remarks from a statement issued after the event.
Okay News reports that the proposed youth teams would work alongside ECOWAS’s regular election observation missions. Ka said the approach had been piloted in Côte d’Ivoire and repeated in Benin.
The discussion was organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) with Legis360. It focused on young people’s participation in elections and democratic processes.
Ka urged political parties to give young people more opportunities within their structures. He identified finance as a major barrier to participation, alongside social and cultural obstacles and gender bias.
“Unless young people can access finance, I don’t think they can do much about political participation,” he said.
Ezenwa Nwagwu, PAACA’s executive director, urged prospective youth observers to learn the electoral laws and regulations governing their work.
