Highlights
— Defects in electoral law marred 2023 polls, says EU observer mission
— Report exposed Gaps In Electoral Body, INEC’s Accountability, Transparency –EU Mission
— Offers 23 recommendations in six priority arrears
— EU noted that the presidential selection of the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) leaves the electoral body vulnerable to the perception of partiality.
 |
| EU Observers |
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has presented its final report on Nigeria’s general elections.
Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, while presenting final report of the EU EOM in Abuja, yesterday, said the mission also released 23 recommendations for consideration by Nigerian authorities, with a view to reforming six priority areas.
Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) of the highly-disputed presidential election held on February 25, 2023, with both defeated candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, heading to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to win back what they described as their “stolen mandate.”
Addressing a press briefing in Abuja, the Chief Observer, EU EOM, Barry Andrews, noted that his team carried out its work between January 11 and April 11 on the invitation of the INEC.
He added that a delegation of the European Parliament joined the EU EOM for the observation of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, and that the mission accredited a total of 110 observers from 25 EU Member States, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.
Andrews, also in its presentation, said that in the lead up to the 2023 general elections, Nigerian citizens demonstrated a clear commitment to the democratic process.
He, however, noted that “the election exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signal a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.”
The EU EOM noted that shortcomings in law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in INEC.
The EU EOM offered 23 recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian authorities that would contribute to improvement of future elections.
Andrews said: “We are particularly concerned about the need for reform in six areas which we have identified as priority recommendations, and we believe, if implemented, could contribute to improvements for the conduct of elections.”
He said: “Importantly, there is a need for political will to achieve improved democratic practices in Nigeria,” insisting that inclusive dialogue between all stakeholders on electoral reform remains crucial.
He noted that the European Union stands ready to support Nigerian stakeholders in the implementation of these recommendations.
Defects in electoral law marred 2023 polls, says EU observer mission
The Observer Mission (EU EOM) said shortcomings in electoral law and administration hindered smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections and damaged trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Chief Observer, EU EOM, Barry Andrews, said while Nigerians demonstrated commitment to democratic option, the electoral process exposed systemic weaknesses, signalling need for legal and operational reforms and enhancement of transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
The EU EOM said it observed deceit and misuse of the power of incumbency by governors, who tilted the playing field, leading to increased polarisation and divisive rhetoric based on ethnicity and religion.
The mission also observed over 1,000 pre-election court cases and more than 100 campaign-related incidents of violence, including assassinations.
Andrews said in furtherance of the report, EU EOM will have a follow-up mission to Nigeria after two years, to engage authorities on implementation of the recommendations.
Also speaking, European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Samuela Isopi, said the EU has been supportive of the nation’s return to democracy and has been working with INEC and other key stakeholders in bolstering democracy.
She added that the EU is ready to sustain its support towards deepening electoral processes and invest in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
2023 General Elections Exposed Gaps In Electoral Body, INEC’s Accountability, Transparency
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) believe that the presidential selection of the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) leaves the electoral body vulnerable to the perception of partiality.
The group asserted that the 2023 general elections did not ensure a well-run transparent and inclusive democratic process as assured by INEC.
The final report identified the lack of INEC independent structures and capacities to enforce sanctions for electoral offences and breaches of campaign finance rules as a weak point.
The group explained that public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged during the presidential poll and were not restored in state-level elections, leading civil society to call for an independent audit of the entire process.
The report reads, “The widely welcomed Electoral Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) introduced measures aimed at building stakeholder trust.
“However, the Act’s first test in a general election revealed crucial gaps in terms of INEC’s accountability and transparency, proved to be insufficiently elaborated, and lacked clear provisions for timely and efficient implementation.
“Weak points include a lack of INEC independent structures and capacities to enforce sanctions for electoral offences and breaches of campaign finance rules.
“Furthermore, the presidential selection of INEC leadership at the federal and state level leaves the electoral institution vulnerable to the perception of partiality.
“Closer to the polls some started to doubt INEC’s administrative and operational efficiency and in-house capacity. Public confidence gradually decreased and was severely damaged on 25 February due to its operational failures and lack of transparency.
“While some corrective measures introduced before the 18 March elections were effective, overall trust was not restored.”
However, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, in his reaction told journalists after the presentation that they are going to harmonise all the reports by international observers that have been presented and look at the reports holistically.
He said, “We are going to harmonise all the reports by international observers that have been presented and we are going to look at the reports holistically.
“From the report presented, the EU made mention of the fact that there have been significant improvements in our electoral process and there have been so many positives to this particular election.
“One of the positives is that we registered over 93 million Nigerians during this election. Not only that if you look at the reports submitted by international observers, in terms of voters accreditation, the BVAS performed optimally.”
"There were challenges, promising that recommendations from international observers would be worked on and implemented," the statement added.
Offers 23 recommendations in six priority arrears
The EU EOM offered 23 recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian authorities that would contribute to the improvement of future elections.
Chief Observer, Barry Andrews said: “We are particularly concerned about the need for reform in six areas which we have identified as priority recommendations, and we believe, if implemented, could contribute to improvements for the conduct of elections.”
Recommendations for reform in six areas
1. Removing ambiguities in the law;
2. Establishing publicly accountable selection process for INEC staff;
3. Ensuring real-time publication of and access to election results;
4. Providing greater protection for media practitioners;
5. Addressing discrimination against women in politics;
6. And preventing impunity regarding electoral offences.
Priority recommendations explained:
Removing ambiguities in the law: Protect the interests of voters through certainty of law for all stages and aspects of electoral processes by eliminating from electoral law and regulations errors and ambiguities to avoid potential for conflicting interpretations, and ensuring the revision processes are inclusive.
Establishing a publicly accountable selection process for INEC members: Establish a robust operational framework for the independence, integrity, and efficiency of electoral administration through an inclusive and publicly accountable mechanism for selecting candidates to the posts of INEC commissioners and RECs based on clear criteria of evaluation of merits, qualifications, and verified non-partisanship.
Ensuring real-time publication of and access to election results: Protect the free expression of the will of the voter and integrity of elections by establishing a robust, transparent, and easily verifiable results processing system with clear rules. These include uploading polling unit results from the polling unit only and in real time, at each level of collation results forms to be uploaded in real time, and all forms to be published in an easily trackable and scrapable database format.
Providing greater protection for media practitioners: Afford adequate protection to freedom of expression by developing a comprehensive operational framework underpinned by the skills and means for ensuring prompt investigation and prosecution of all types of attacks against media practitioners.
Addressing discrimination against women in political life: Undertake urgent and robust affirmative action to ensure meaningful women’s representation through special measures in line with the Beijing principles and the National Gender Policy to increase the representation of women as candidates and in elected office, further supported by cross-sectoral, intensified, and sustained capacity building and sensitisation to eliminate discrimination.
Addressing impunity regarding electoral offences: Address impunity for electoral offences through robust, well-defined, and effective inter-agency coordination governed by clear rules on non-partisanship, optimisation of resources, delivery of effective investigation and sanctioning, and provision of regular public consolidated information on outcomes.
FG seek support:
Meanwhile, the Federal Government sought support of the EU in its quest to deepen and consolidate democratic practices.
Secretary to the Government (SGF) of the Federation, George Akume, made the appeal while receiving in audience the EU EOM delegation, led by Andrews, in his office.
While giving trajectory of Nigeria’s democratic development, the SGF said the nation has enjoyed considerable improvement over the years, even as he appealed for support to consolidate on gains since return to democratic rule.
He thanked the mission for participating in the 2023 elections across the country and emphasised importance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Festus Okoye reacts:
Reacting, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, who spoke to journalists after the presentation said significant improvements on the 2023 elections have been reported thus far by international observers.
He said: “We are going to harmonise all the reports by international observers that have been presented and we are going to look at the reports holistically.”
He added that: “From the report presented, the EU made mention of the fact that there have been significant improvements in our electoral process and there have been so many positives to this particular election.
“One of the positives is that we registered over 93 million Nigerians during this election. Not only that, if you look at the reports submitted by international observers, in terms of voters accreditation, the BVAS performed optimally.”
Okoye, however, admitted that there were challenges, promising that recommendations from international observers would be worked on and implemented.
He said: “But there were also a few challenges and looking at those challenges, one must look at the context and the environment of the election.
“Insecurity was in some parts of the country, which we cannot dispute. Secondly, violence was targeted at our staff and some Nigerians. Fuel scarcity and naira redesign also were challenges.”
He, however, said: “Recommendations have been made on administrative and legal issues and we are going to harvest them and implement them.”
Buy Luxury Apartments on the Island, Lagos
0 Comments