A final report on the February 25 and March 18, 2023, elections in Nigeria has been published. It was presented to the public by the European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria.
The EU EOM took on the responsibility of assessing the planning, execution, and outcome of the elections and made recommendations where necessary.
In presenting the report, a member of the European Parliament who was also the Chief Observer during the elections, Barry Andrews, commended Nigerians for their conduct during the electioneering. But he lamented the systemic ineptitude experienced during the elections and called for the need to provide vast reforms that will enshrine accountability, transparency, and inclusiveness.
The report has become a tradition for the EU EOM as it has formed part of the democratic process across Africa. The report on the 2023 Nigerian election came three months after the EU EOM wrapped up its observation work in Nigeria following the announcement of the winner of the presidential election earlier in March 2023.
After the election, the EU EOM expressed their opinion on how the election was conducted, with many of the observers saying that the election was poorly conducted, citing reasons such as mismanagement of electoral processes, attendant voter intimidation, and violence that impeded a successful election.
In its report, the EU EOM “offered 23 recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian authorities.”
“We are particularly concerned about the need for reform in six areas that we have identified as priority recommendations and that, if implemented, could contribute to improvements in the conduct of elections”, Andrews said in reference to the report.
He noted that the government must show political will if there is to be an improvement in the country’s electoral and democratic processes. According to him, the EU EOM was open about the prospect of aiding all stakeholders willing to see to the adoption and Implementation of all accrued funds.
The EU EOM recommendations are in six parts. Each demanded the “removal of ambiguities in the law, establishment of a publicly accountable selection process for INEC members, ensuring real-time publication of and access to election results, provision of greater protection for media practitioners, discriminating against women in political life, and impunity regarding electoral offenses.”
The recommendations came from the contribution of accredited foreign observers, some of whom are outside the EU States. On January 11, the EU EOM, alongside a delegation of the European Parliament, arrived in Nigeria to begin pre-observer preparations on the invitation of the INEC.
