Staff Writer
As 10 African countries prepare to elect new presidents in 2023, election observers from over 20 African nations converged in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Alongside the Election Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-SA), the International Republican Institute (IRI) organized the second Africa Election Watch Symposium to discuss challenges and recommendations for safer, more transparent, and credible elections in Africa.
“Holding routine elections is now the norm across most of sub-Saharan Africa, but concerns remain over campaign corruption and violence,” said IRI Senior Advisor for Election, Jessica Keegan.
“Southern Africa has the potential to lead in peaceful, multi-party elections, but corruption, lack of transparency, and misinformation undermine fairness and public confidence in electoral outcomes, which the ESN network is working to address”
During elections, poll observers face increased risks of attack, both physically and online, which is a growing concern for ESN-SA.
ESN Secretariat Rindai Chipfunde stated,” Electoral security – especially that of observers – remains a primary cause for concern in Southern Africa.
“This conference is important for improving electoral integrity by bringing together some of Africa’s most experienced electoral integrity experts to address the fundamental challenges around electoral insecurity, disinformation, political finance transparency, inclusivity, and competitiveness of elections – all concerns that the Election Support Network has raised time and again;”
The Election Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-SA) is a regional network of fifteen non-
governmental organizations working in the area of elections in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, established in January 1998.
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the International Republican Institute (IRI) advances freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties become more responsive, strengthening transparent and accountable governance, and working to increase the role of marginalized groups in the political process—including women and youth.
More information is available at www.iri.org.
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