By Olukayode Idowu
The European Union, African Union, Commonwealth, ECOWAS Missions to the 2023 Nigeria’s Election have asked any of the presidential candidate or political party that is not satisfied with the electoral process to seek legal redress.
Presenting their preliminary reports on the Presidential/National Assembly Elections, the European Union, African Union, Commonwealth, ECOWAS Missions to the 2023 Nigeria’s Election, while admitting that the election was better than past elections, but asked candidates and their parties to seek legal redress as provider under Nigeria’s law if they are aggrieved.
The Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, while delivering his team’s preliminary assessment of the electoral process at a press conference in Abuja, noted that the Nigeria’s 2023 general elections were “largely peaceful” despite administrative and logistical hurdles at many polling units.
He said: “Nigerians were largely accorded the right to vote,” adding that: “We congratulate all Nigerians for their determination, patience and resilience displayed throughout the electoral process.”
He said as Nigeria waits for the final results, he appealed to all citizens to exercise patience to allow the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its staff to conclude the results process peacefully.
Mbeki said: “We call on all those with grievances to address disputes through prescribed legal channels,” insisting that: “The time now is for restraint and continued patience as we await the final results.”
He commended the commitment shown by voters, despite the late arrival of election officials and materials at many polling units, technical issues with biometric identification machines in some cases, and delays with the live results transmission system.
Mbeki also praised the polling officials for conducting their duties diligently, while noting some inconsistencies in procedures, particularly in the positioning of some polling booths which compromised the secrecy of the ballot as well as lack of advance voting for those deployed on election day.
He expressed that as voting hours extended into the night due to late openings, some polling units were ill-equipped with proper lighting to facilitate voting and counting in the dark.
However considering the challenges, he encouraged the electoral commission to conduct a thorough post-election review of the electoral process to draw lessons and consider setting up appropriate mechanisms to implement the recommendations of observers.
He also noted an improvement with the enactment of a new Electoral Act in 2022, which gave the electoral commission more autonomy, legal backing for the use of electronic accreditation of voters and frameworks for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the elections, among other things.
He noted the low percentage of women candidates, but however said the group was impressed by the “vibrant participation” of young people, including as polling officials, in the elections.
He noted that Commonwealth observers were in Benue, Edo, Kano, Lagos, Ondo, Rivers and Sokoto states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
The European Union Observer Mission, on its part, urged Nigerians to rely on the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) for results of the presidential and National Assembly polls, insisting that the social media is not a credible source.
EU gave this advice on Monday, while delivery its preliminary report on the election.
According to Barry Andrew, EU Chief Observer and Head of EU EOM, “Social media was actively used by political actors as a campaign tool. However, the platforms were misused to spread harmful content, including disinformation on key electoral processes; the measures the
platforms took to protect electoral integrity were insufficient.
“Misleading information also came from
political actors and contributed to a blurred information environment for voters.”
He however commended the media and the Civil Society Organisation for joining forces to fact check.
He said, “Online and offline media joined forces with civil society and fact checkers to safeguard the integrity of the preelection information environment. Realtime fact checking of gubernatorial and other contestants’debates strived to hold candidates accountable, while various formats of voter information, raised voter awareness and helped to counter electoral insecurity, complementing INEC efforts.”
The EU Preliminary report presented by Andrew, observed that the electoral process lacked transparency, it also showed that the process operational failures, which reduced trust in the process.
EU also said despite the confidence reposed in INEC by stakeholders, the electoral body’s lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process, including on election day.
Andrew said, “On 25 February, Nigerians went to the polls in highly anticipated presidential and National Assembly
elections that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) kept on schedule despite a volatile
and challenging environment.
“Fundamental freedoms of assembly and movement were largely respected, yet the full enjoyment of the latter was impeded by insufficient planning, insecurity and the prevailing Naira and fuel shortages.
“Abuse of incumbency by various political office holders distorted the playing
field and there were widespread allegations of vote buying.
“The EU EOM is continuing its observation of the ongoing collation and tabulation of
results throughout the country.
“INEC’s operational capacity was hampered by the ongoing fuel and Naira shortage. Insecurity prevented
it from accessing some Local Government Areas (LGAs), notably in the South. Attacks on INEC premises, including just days before polling, hindered preparations in affected areas, while instilling fear in voters.
“Overall, stakeholders had expressed confidence in INEC’s independence, professionalism, and voter
information efforts, but this decreased ahead of elections.
“INEC lacked efficient planning and transparency during critical stages of the electoral process, while on election day trust in INEC was seen to further
reduce due to delayed polling processes and information gaps related to much anticipated access to results
on its Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
“In the lead-up to elections, the widely welcomed Electoral Act 2022 introduced measures aimed at building stakeholder trust, however leaving some important gaps in terms of accountability and INEC’s power to enforce the law.
“Weak points include a lack of INEC empowerment to enforce sanctions for
electoral offences and breaches of campaign finance rules. Positively, INEC benefited from more timely
financingthan for previous contests. Other new provisions also aimed to enhance transparency of results.
“The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV for the 2023 elections was perceived as an important step to ensure the integrity and credibility of elections.
“However, delayed training of technical personnel, an inadequate mock testing exercise, and a lack of public information on the election technologies diminished expectations and left room for speculation and uncertainty.
“During the early stages of collation, presidential result forms from polling units were not displayed on the
IReV, while Senate and House of Representative results were slowly published.
“Presidential election result
forms started to be uploaded after 10 pm on election day, raising concerns.
On her part, EU Parliament Head of Delegation, Ms. Evin Incir expressed concern that less than 10 percent of candidates were women.
Incir therefore urged the next government and Parliament to look into the manifestos of the main political parties to include affirmative action, such as quotas.