Foreign observers to last Saturday's general election in Nigeria have passed a damning verdict on the polls.
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU OM) said despite the fact that presidential and National Assembly (NASS) elections were held as scheduled, the elections were affected by operational failures which reduced trust in the process and challenged the people's right to vote.
EU chief observer, Barry Andrews, stated this yesterday while presenting the preliminary findings of the Mission in Abuja.
He noted that despite a challenging environment, the Nigerian voters had the patience as well as the commitment to cast their votes.
He said, "Stakeholders overall expressed confidence in INEC independence and professionalism in the preparatory phase.
"However, INEC's lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process, including on election day."
The EU had deployed 110 Observers from the EU member- states as well as Canada, Norway and Switzerland.
According to EU findings, election day was marked by late deployment and opening while polling procedures were not always followed.
It added that polling staff struggled to complete result forms, which were not posted publicly in the polling units observed.
"The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) were perceived as an important step to ensure the integrity and credibility of the elections.
"However, uploading of the results using the BVAS did not work as expected and the presidential election results forms started to appear on the portal very late on election day, raising concerns," it said.
The EU OM also said that the general elections offered voters a real choice of candidates in a highly competitive campaign although political parties denounced unequal campaign conditions due to interference and increase in violent incidents with a potential to impact the elections and suppress voter participation.
It noted that the civil society played an increasingly important role in mobilizing youth, supporting voter education and, with almost 150,000 observers, holding electoral institutions accountable.
Ms Evin Incir, head of delegation of the European Parliament said, "I wish to express my concern that less than 10 percent of candidates were women. The next government and parliament should heed the manifestoes of the main political parties of Nigeria, which call for affirmative action such as quotas".
The EU Mission also said that the fuel shortage and naira shortage coupled with insecurity prevented it from accessing some local government areas notably in the south.
"Attacks on INEC premises, including just days before polling, hindered preparations in affected areas while instilling fear in voters' information efforts but this decreased confidence in INEC's independence, professionalism, and voter information efforts but this decreased ahead of elections," it added.
The EU mission also bemoaned INEC's lack of empowerment to enforce sanctions for electoral offences and breaches of campaign fiancé rules.
It said while BVAS and IRev are good innovations for credulity and integrity, however, delay training of technical personnel, inadequate mock testing exercise, and a lack of public information on the election technologies diminished expectations and left room for speculations and uncertainty.
On their part, International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM) said the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections in the country fell short of citizens' expectations.
NDI/IRI also called on the international community to punish anyone that undermines Nigeria's election.
Presenting their preliminary report on the election yesterday, the group led by former president of Malawi, Dr Joyce Banda, declared that the election fell well short of Nigerian citizens' reasonable expectations.
Banda said, "We congratulate the people of Nigeria for their resilience and enthusiasm to participate in the process.
"Despite large crowds in some polling stations and long waits, Nigerian voters demonstrated commitment to participate in the process and a strong desire to have their voices heard."
She added that the NDI/IRI 40-member joint IEOM was deployed across all the six geopolitical regions of the country, and observed all stages of the voting process.
Banda continued: "The mission notes that despite the much-needed reforms to the Electoral Act 2022, the election fell well short of Nigerian citizens' reasonable expectations.
"Logistical challenges and multiple incidents of political violence overshadowed the electoral process and impeded a substantial number of voters from Ongoing currency and fuel shortages also imposed excessive burdens on voters and election officials, and Nigerian marginalized groups, especially women, continue to face barriers to seeking and obtaining political office.
"The delegation observed that late opening of polling locations and logistical failures created tensions and the secrecy of the ballot was compromised in some polling units given overcrowding. At the close of the polls, challenges with the electronic transfer of results and their upload to a public portal in a timely manner undermined citizen confidence at a crucial moment of the process.
"Moreover, inadequate communication and lack of transparency by the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) about their cause and extent created confusion and eroded voters' trust in the process.
"The combined effect of these problems disenfranchised Nigerian voters in many areas, although the scope and scale is currently unknown. Despite these issues, Nigerians once again demonstrated their commitment to the democratic process.
"Voters displayed extraordinary resilience and resolve to have their voices heard through the ballot, and INEC administered a nationwide election according to the electoral calendar for the first time in the country's recent history.
"As the nation awaits the results of the February 25 polls and the Nigerian people prepare for upcoming gubernatorial elections, we urge political actors and their supporters to remain calm and exercise restraint.
"The mission encourages INEC, the government, political actors and civil society to redouble their efforts to deliver on citizen expectations for transparent and inclusive elections, and to ensure that electoral outcomes are a credible expression of the voters' will," the group said while calling on the international community to punish anyone that compromise the Nigerian election."
But the independent group of Commonwealth Observers gave a positive report about the polls, saying Nigeria's 2023 general elections were "largely peaceful" despite administrative and logistical hurdles at many polling units.
The chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group and former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who delivered his team's preliminary assessment of the electoral process at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, said, "Nigerians were largely accorded the right to vote."
Addressing journalists, Mbeki encouraged all citizens to exercise patience to allow the country's electoral umpire and its staff to conclude the results process peacefully.
"We call on all those with grievances to address disputes through prescribed legal channels. The time now is for restraint and continued patience as we await the final results," he said.
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.
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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.
Delivering the group's preliminary assessment, 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.
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.
The chairperson 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
Noting the low percentage of women candidates, the group said it was however impressed by the "vibrant participation" of young people, included as polling officials in the elections.
Commonwealth observers were in Benue, Edo, Kano, Lagos, Ondo, Rivers and Sokoto states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.
They observed the accreditation, voting, counting and results aggregation, and met with electoral officials and observers to build up a broader picture on the conduct of the electoral process.
The Commonwealth Observer Group was constituted by the Commonwealth secretary-general, Hon Patricia Scotland KC, at the invitation of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission.
