The first in-person Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament is underway in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
The meeting of the 5th legislature of the subregional parliament, which was officially opened by Liberian President George Weah on 8th March, is scheduled to conclude on Saturday, March 12.
The session is being convened at the backdrop of growing threat to democracy with the resurgence of military coups.
Three ECOWAS member states – Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali – are under military rule.
Sidie Mohamed Tunis, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, said the three countries represented a threat that required “urgent” attention, hence the need to dedicate the five-day long session on them.
“Constitutional abuse and deficit in good governance principles, the lack of transparency in the electioneering processes, corruption, as well as civil unrest resulting from unplanned change in constitution, are factors to which coups d’etats have been hinged,” Tunis, a Sierra Leonean MP, who is the 5th Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, said in his opening statement.
“As a result, our democratic processes appear weakened, thereby impacting negatively on the image of ECOWAS,” he added, calling for action by member states to ensure an environment that promotes a sustainable democratic culture.
Mr Tunis also urged the military junta in the affected countries to fast track the process of transition to civilian rule.
The Monrovia meeting was attended by high profile officials, among them former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
The extraordinary session was preceded by a seminary held from 3rd to 5th March, on the theme: “ECOWAS Vision 2050: Formulation process and implementation challenges.”
The Parliament says the vision is the basis of regional actions and relationships with ECOWAS over the next thirty years, and it is expected to provide policy prescriptions to tackle the complex issues of the community, including Education, Science and Technology, Health and Development, Sustainable Agriculture, Peace and Social Justice, and Gender Equality.
The seminar was designed to enable lawmakers better understand the objectives contained in the prospective programmes for a qualitative change from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of peoples by 2050, says the Parliament is a statement prior to the session.
President George Weah in his keynote address highlighted the relationship between the ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the theme of the session which is centered on political and security challenges in West Africa. The Liberian leader said a fully integrated and prosperous West African community with populations living in freedom, inclusiveness and peace, requires countries in political stability with secure borders. He therefore condemned the coups in the member states and re-echoed the ECOWAS Heads of State position in enforcing the bloc’s additional protocol on democracy and good governance.
Former Liberia President Helen Johnson Sirleaf spoke on the persistent disparities in ECOWAS countries regarding the political engagement and empowerment of women. She specifically called for the application of the gender quota in ECOWAS countries.
