Addis Ababa, 29 May 2020: The Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission, Ambassador Minata Samate Cessouma presided over a virtual consultative meeting of senior officials of African Election Management Bodies (EMBs ) on 27 May 2020 from 15h00-20h00 on the COVID-19 pandemic and  elections in Africa.

 

The virtual peer-learning consultative meeting was convened in collaboration with the Association of African Electoral Authorities (AAEA) and Regional Economic Communities’ networks of EMBs.

 

A total of 152 senior electoral officials from African EMBs and election experts were in attendance of this first continental meeting whose aim was to explore strategies for better election planning and management in the context of the public health crisis presented by novel Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

In her opening remarks, the Commissioner reminded the officials from African EMBs that “whatever the context, elections must respect the international and continental principles and standards of democratic elections”. What is more, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, in force since February 2012, specifies that “the Member States of the African Union must hold regular, peaceful, democratic and credible elections”. 

 

The virtual peer-learning meeting also benefitted from a briefing by the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) which offered perspectives to African EMBs on undertaking mitigating measures against the spread of Covid-19 as they prepare for elections on the continent. 

 

The Commissioner further informed the electoral officials that the Department of Political Affairs in collaboration with Africa CDC will soon embark on developing guidelines for conducting elections in the context of public health pandemics and will be disseminated to all Member States of the African Union.