Peter Obi, on Sunday, questioned how ECOWAS handled the political situation in Guinea-Bissau after soldiers interrupted the election process in the country. He raised the concern after following events there and reacting through a post he shared on his verified X account.
Obi said he studied reports from Guinea-Bissau shortly after he returned from a meeting at the European Parliament. He noted that the events looked unusual to him because the country’s president was the one who announced the alleged coup even though reports from the polls said voting went on peacefully.
He accused ECOWAS of acting quickly against Guinea-Bissau while doing nothing when some countries in West Africa experienced technical problems that affected election result transmission. He asked why the regional body had not shown the same energy in dealing with cases where technology failed during elections.
Obi said that when digital tools used for voting or transmitting results fail, the damage done to democracy can be as harmful as a military takeover. He warned that such failures give room for politicians to take advantage of the situation and change outcomes without being detected.
According to him, democracy can only grow when election processes are open, reliable and free from any type of interference, whether it comes from force or from faulty technology. He said both forms of disruption rob people of their right to choose their leaders and create more tension in the region.
Obi called on West African leaders to look into the problems that cause election crises so that future elections in the sub-region can truly reflect the will of the voters.