INEC Updates EU on Progress, Says 8 of 23 2023 Election Recommendations Implemented

While some of the suggestions made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the general election in 2023 have been put into practice, the European Union (EU) has been reassured that the various stakeholders involved are attending to other proposals.

Speaking Thursday in Abuja, INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu met with the European Union’s Election Observation Follow-up Mission to Nigeria.

On Thursday, Mr. Barry Andrews, the head of the EU Election Observation Follow-up Mission and a member of the European Parliament, was in Abuja.

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Gautier Mignot, the Team Lead, and other Follow-up Mission experts were also present.

Halfway between the previous general election and the upcoming one, the meeting was primarily held to monitor the execution of the EU recommendations.

Eleven of the 30 suggestions the EU EOM made in 2019 were expressly directed at INEC, according to Yakubu.

Eight proposals were classified as general, he added, while three were designated as priority.

The head of INEC stated that in 2023, the EU/EOM made 23 suggestions, of which 8 (34.8%) needed to be implemented by the Commission. Of these, only one recommendation was designated as a priority.

The remaining 15 (65.2%) recommendations, he said, of which five were designated as priorities, call for action from various branches of the government, legislature, and judiciary in addition to political parties and a variety of stakeholders, including the media, professional associations, and civil society organizations.

He stated, “The Commission has given careful consideration to each of the eight recommendations that were specifically addressed to us in your report.”

“Aspects of the proposals that can be implemented through administrative action alone have been taken.

Similarly, while awaiting the outcome of the National Assembly’s continuing legal analysis of the proposals that call for legislative intervention, action is being made on cross-cutting recommendations that call for cooperation between INEC and other bodies and stakeholders.

For this reason, we shared with you at this meeting the Commission’s comprehensive answer to each of your direct observations. We can discuss each of the suggestions if time allowed.

During our own study of the 2023 General Election, we held extensive consultations with key institutions and stakeholders regarding your recommendations and comparable findings from other national and international election observers.

“Electoral reform is suggested in 142 ways in the evaluation report. Furthermore, the Commission’s primary report on the 2023 General Election was released more than a year ago. We have made the two reports available on our website.

Elections are regulated by legislation, as you are aware. We need to revise our electoral laws in order to implement many of your proposals. The Commission met with our National Assembly as a result, including holding a retreat with the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters (Senate and House of Representatives). We urge that the National Assembly give the proposal for election reform prompt consideration.

For us to prepare for the elections, an early bill passage is essential. As election day approaches, the Commission’s work may be disrupted by uncertainty regarding the election’s legal structure.

The upcoming EU EOM for the 2027 General Election is something we eagerly await. The Commission invites foreign Election Observation Missions to be deployed, as you are aware. We’ll keep talking to you, I want to reassure you. In the near future, the Commission will invite the Commonwealth, the African Union, ECOWAS, and the EU to the 2027 General Election.

“We think the suggestions that came from your analysis of our election and electoral process contribute to raising the standard of our elections and electoral activities.”