Guinea-Bissau: Obi challenges ECOWAS on election glitches

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP ) in the 2023 Presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi has charged the heads of government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to always maintain the same standard in condemning all forms of glitches that have started disrupting elections in the sub-region.
Obi was reacting to ECOWAS’ condemnation of the disruption of the electoral process with a military coup glitch in Guinea-Bissau.
He argued that while ECOWAS was quick to condemn the Guinea-Bissau military-arranged glitch, they have remained silent on the technology glitch that was witnessed in the presidential election in Nigeria in 2023.
The former governor of Anambra state who writing on his X handle on Sunday on the article he titled ‘Reflecting on the ‘Coup Glitches’ in Guinea-Bissau’, said, glitches of any type should be condemned because they undermine democracy.
“On Thursday, November 27th, I arrived in Abuja early in the morning after attending a productive meeting at the European Parliament. To my distress, I learned that our former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was caught up in the reported coup situation in Guinea-Bissau. I immediately reached out to him, and he assured me that he was safe. I was further relieved to hear that he had returned safely to Nigeria.
“I listened carefully to his press briefing about the incident. Dr. Jonathan, who was in Guinea-Bissau as an election monitor, said that the so-called coup appeared suspicious—especially because it was the President himself who announced the coup and shared details with the international community.
“What makes the situation even more striking is that the election was reportedly peaceful, with the only remaining step being the formal announcement of the results.
“It is safe to say that while Nigeria’s own election was marred by a “technical glitch,” the election in Guinea-Bissau seems to have suffered from a “coup glitch.” Yet, to this day, no one has clearly explained the nature of Nigeria’s glitch.
“ECOWAS was quick to sanction Guinea-Bissau, but what does ECOWAS do when democracy is subverted not by soldiers, but by technology? What is the punishment for countries that announce ‘glitches’ at critical moments during an election? Do we only condemn coups that are visible with guns and ignore those carried out through a designed technological failure?
“It is essential to recognize that whether technical or political, these challenges can undermine democracy, hinder progress, and obstruct the rights of African citizens to freely elect their leaders.
“By addressing these issues constructively, we can work towards a New Nigeria and a more stable and democratic West Africa. Together, we can ensure that the will of the people prevails and that our elections reflect the true desires of our citizens”.
Obi stated that the only difference between the glitches in Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau is the fact that while in Nigeria the verdict of the people were discarded using the convenient technical issues, while in Guinea-Bissau, they applied their own glitch using the bare face of force.
“True democracy can only thrive when transparency and accountability prevail, and when the voice of the people is respected, not interrupted by glitches or coups”, Obi concluded.