Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has accepted to lead the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) constituted by Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, to observe the Sierra Leone 2023 general elections.
Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
The secretary-general constituted the observer group, a team of distinguished experts upon the invitation from the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone for the June poll in the West African nation.
As the COG Chair, Osinbajo would be the leader and spokesperson of the group of distinguished experts drawn from around the world, interfacing between the group, the media and the authorities of the host country.
In a statement on Thursday, Scotland expressed gratitude to Osinbajo for accepting the invitation in spite of his busy schedule.
“As a senior statesman from the region, Osinbajo understands in depth, the challenges across West Africa and I am confident he will lead a brilliant team,” Scotland said.
Responding, Osinbajo welcomed the opportunity to lead the election observers in Sierra Leone on June 24.
“I’m highly honoured by the unique opportunity to continue to bring my expertise and experience in contributing to deepening democracy especially in Africa and the Commonwealth by extension,” he said.
According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Osinbajo will be joined by recognised dignitaries from various fields including politicians, legal, media, gender and election administration professionals from across the Commonwealth to carry out the task in June.
The mandate of the Osinbajo-led Commonwealth Observer Group in Sierra Leone would be to observe the electoral process and provide an independent assessment of whether the election has been conducted in a credible manner.
The group will then report on the conduct of the elections in accordance with the standards to which Sierra Leone has committed itself, including its own laws.
“In line with Commonwealth methodology, the group will consider, among other things, whether conditions exist for credible and inclusive elections, including a fair election environment; whether public media has been impartial; the transparency of the entire process; and whether voters are free to express their will.
“The group, upon completion of its assignment, will submit its recommendations in a report to the Commonwealth secretary-general, who will subsequently share it with the Government of Sierra Leone, the Electoral Commission, political parties and all Commonwealth governments,” the Secretariat said.
The vice-president, on behalf of the Nigerian government, had been at the forefront of championing democratic governments especially in the West African sub-region, under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On several occasions, Osinbajo had represented President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria at different sessions of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
