ECONEC Establishes AI Guidelines for West African Elections

The ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) has approved a regional framework to guide the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in electoral processes across West Africa. This announcement was made by Serigne Ka, the permanent secretary of ECONEC and head of the Electoral Assistance Division at the ECOWAS Commission, during a visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The guidelines aim to protect democratic integrity amid the increasing use of AI in public administration and electoral activities. The framework was finalized at a two-day validation meeting in Abuja, following recommendations from the ECONEC Symposium held in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2025.

Ka, representing ECONEC chair Abdoulaye Sylla, emphasized the necessity of these guidelines and called for international support for their implementation. INEC chairman Joash Amupitan praised ECONEC for facilitating knowledge exchange among electoral bodies and stressed the importance of integrating AI and cybersecurity into electoral administration to uphold democracy in West Africa.