National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC), Chairperson, Davidetta Browne Lansanah, is in Windhoek, Namibia, attending a two-day Regional Freedom of Expression and Access to Information Workshop by Election Management Bodies (EMBs).
At the opening session on Tuesday, July 23, 2023, in Windhoek, the NEC Chairperson represented the Association of African Elections Authorities (AAEA) on behalf of the president, Jean Mensah, Chairperson of Ghana Electoral Commission.
The event is being attended by more than 60 participants from mainly SADC countries, international observers, EBMs from Africa and donor partners.
An earlier dispatch from Pretoria says, the workshop is strengthening Election Observation Mission of the African Union (AU), Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
According to the dispatch, the overall goal of the regional workshop is to increase knowledge and mainstreaming of the AU’s 2019 Declaration of Principles of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
The NEC boss is in Namibia at the invitation of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC).
Both the Centre for Human Rights and the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Counties are hosting the regional workshop.
The regional workshop forms part of responsibilities of the two organizations under the African Union Framework on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
The African Union normative framework on elections recognizes the pivotal role of Election Management Bodies.
The NEC is a member of the AAEA, through which Madam Browne Lansanah was nominated to represent the President at the regional workshop that seeks amongst other things, to support EMBs election observers and monitors in fulfilling their obligations under the 2019 Declaration, the Guidelines, the broader AU framework on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.
It also seeks to promote state compliance with the AU normative framework on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information during elections to enable conducive information ecosystem.