Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is billed to leave for Gaborone on Friday where he will be leading the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to observe Botswana’s general elections scheduled to hold on October 30, 2024, according to a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze.
Dr. Jonathan will lead other distinguished leaders including members of the African Union Permanent Representative Committee, Pan African Parliament (PAP), African Governance Platform, Election Management Bodies, independent election experts, civil society organisations as well as women and youth who are all members of the mission.
While in Gaborone, Jonathan will hold consultations with different stakeholders including the leadership of the country, political parties, civil society, media and the diplomatic community in a bid to promote credible, transparent and peaceful electoral process before, during and after the elections.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, stated in a letter to Dr. Jonathan that the former President was chosen for the role because of his “pan-African credentials and solid commitment to democracy and credible electoral processes in Africa.”
The 2024 general election to be held on 30 October, 2024 will be the 13th since Botswana became independent in 1965 and will involve the election of 61 Members of Parliament and 609 Local Council Seats.
For Dr. Jonathan, it will be the 5th time he would be leading AU Missions to observe elections in Africa since 2015, having led similar missions to Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
He has also led different election observation missions including the Commonwealth, ECOWAS, WAEF, Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) and International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP), since leaving office as Nigeria’s President in 2015.
