Regional body integrates youths into election observations 

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appointed the immediate past Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to lead its Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the upcoming presidential election in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire scheduled for October 25, 2025. 
 
The mission was deployed yesterday and would remain until October 29, 2025, in line with the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. 
 
As the Head of Mission, Osinbajo will lead a team of eminent West Africans tasked with engaging key national stakeholders to support a peaceful and credible electoral process, fostering cooperation with other international and domestic observer groups, and assessing the conduct of the polls. 

MEANWHILE, ECOWAS, in partnership with the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), has commenced the integration of youths into election observations in West Africa.

The initiative, implemented under the pilot project “Mainstreaming Youth into the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EEOM), is aimed at promoting youth inclusion in democratic governance across the region. 
 
The Head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, Mr Serigne Mamadou Ka, while speaking at the opening ceremony of a five-day training workshop for 22 young observers from 11 ECOWAS member states in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, said the youths would to be deployed to participate in election observation missions across the region.