2027 Elections: ECOWAS Plans To Deploy Youth Observers In Nigeria

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has disclosed plans to deploy youth election observers alongside its traditional monitoring teams during Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

The move is aimed at giving young people a greater role in electoral activities and encouraging their participation in political processes across West Africa.

Head of ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, Serigne Ka, disclosed this in Abuja during the fifth edition of the sectoral reflection series on elections and democracy, Naija News reports.

The event was organized by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in partnership with Legis360.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, Ka said the youth election observation initiative had already been tested successfully in Côte d’Ivoire and extended to the Republic of Benin.

He added that ECOWAS would introduce the programme during Cabo Verde’s November elections and The Gambia’s December polls.

“Definitely, we are not going to leave Nigeria out in January,” he said.

Ka also called on political parties across West Africa to create more opportunities for young people to participate in their activities, noting that youths remained poorly represented in politics despite making up the majority of the population.

The ECOWAS official identified lack of access to finance as one of the biggest challenges preventing young people from taking active roles in politics.

He also listed social and cultural restrictions, as well as gender discrimination against women and girls, among the factors limiting political participation.

“There are many barriers. There are social and cultural barriers, and we have gender bias against women and girls, for instance. But I think the nerve of everything is finance,” he said.

“Unless young people can access finance, I don’t think they can do much about political participation.”

Ka maintained that political parties must open their internal structures and decision-making processes to accommodate more young people.

He said ECOWAS would continue to encourage inclusive political participation but stressed that young people must also take steps to demand better representation in political parties and electoral activities.

Also speaking at the event, Executive Director of PAACA, Ezenwa Nwagwu, described the inclusion of young people in ECOWAS election observation missions as an important step towards strengthening democracy.

He said greater youth involvement in election monitoring could also help address the growing attraction of authoritarian rule among some young people.

Nwagwu, however, advised young people participating in election observation missions to familiarise themselves with electoral laws and regulations.

He warned that election monitoring should not be treated as an activity without rules, stressing the need for observers to understand the legal framework guiding the electoral process.