The Joint Election Observation Mission (JEOM) of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on Monday described as disappointing last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.
The 40-member delegation of the United States-based institutes led by the former President of Malawi, Joyce Banda, stated this in their preliminary report on the election in Abuja.
The organizations noted that the elections did not meet the reasonable expectations of Nigerians.
They lamented that political violence and poor logistics hampered the process, and got a large chunk of voters disenfranchised in several polling units across the country.
The institutes, however, commended the voters for their resilience despite the challenges.
The elections were marred by operation failures including late arrival of election materials and officials as well as malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in many parts of the country.
There were also pockets of violence in Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Kano, among others.
The report read: “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 participating.
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“Ongoing currency and fuel shortages also imposed excessive burdens on voters and election officials, and Nigerian marginalised groups, especially women, continue to face barriers to seeking and obtaining political office.
“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 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.
“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 restraints.”
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