EU's Election Observation Mission release report on Nigeria's Election

The European Union Elections Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria release a report on Nigeria's Election

In a series of statement releases from external election observers, the European Union Elections Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria have released a statement of their own. The mission commended Nigerians and other stakeholders for their efforts in enhancing the transparency and accountability of the electoral process.

The mission’s Chief Observer, Ms. Maria Arena, made the commendation at the presentation of the mission’s preliminary report in Abuja on Monday. 

Ms. Arena stated that there was a significant improvement compared to 2015 in spite of the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) operated in a tough environment.

“The civil society organisations played a vital role in enhancing transparency and accountability of the electoral process.
“Going forward, there is a great need for more transparency and communication during the whole process, with political parties, civil society organisations, the media and most importantly citizens playing significant roles.
“The elections were marked by operational shortcomings resulting in delays, but positively, there were a number of improvements since 2015,’’ she said.

She further stated that the elections were competitive, while the candidates campaigned freely and voters’ turnout was impressive in spite of the last minute postponement of the elections.

“The last-minute postponement of the elections and the delayed to start voting on Feb. 23 placed an unfriendly burden on voters.
“However, campaigns were free throughout the campaign process and voters seemed to overcome logistic burdens from the postponement,” she added.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), it was observed that on the Election Day, 91 EU observers witnessed the opening, voting and closing processes of the election in 261 polling units across the country.





Source: Link