The Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated calls for the election of members of the ECOWAS Parliament.

President Akufo-Addo is of the view that it will help strengthen democracy in the sub-region.

Currently, members of the ECOWAS Parliament are selected by their home Parliament to represent the country.

It has however been criticized for breeding corruption and favouritism among MPs.

Speaking at the opening of a high-level ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar, on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, President Akufo-Addo added that the election of members to the august Parliament will also provide the needed autonomy and stability it needs.

He thus urged the House to consider his call.

“I want to reiterate further my earlier support for the call to elect members of the ECOWAS Parliament by universal adult suffrage. Achieving that feat will make an important milestone in the quest for strengthening democracy in the region and also enable Parliament to function with the needed autonomy, stability, and predictability.”

ECOWAS Parliament Seminar
About 200 delegates from the 15 member states of the ECOWAS are currently in Winneba for the High-Level ECOWAS Parliament Interactive Summit and the 2021 Second Extraordinary Session of the sub-regional body.

The summit is expected to last for 10 days.

The event is themed: “Evaluating Two Decades Of Democratic Elections In The ECOWAS Region: Achievements, Challenges And The Way Forward”.

Aside from President Nana Akufo-Addo, the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, His Excellency, Sidi Mohamed Tunis, among others are all expected to address the house.