The European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria 2023 on Monday knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission for failing to live up to expectations in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The Chief Observer, EU Election Observation Mission, Barry Andrews, in his preliminary statement of the EU EOM on the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections said Nigerians hungered for democracy and were ready to be involved in the country’s democracy.
However, he noted the appetite was lost due to failures by the political elite and INEC.
Andrews said, “Throughout the mission, we saw that Nigerians have a great appetite for democracy and are keen to engage in various civic activities. However, in many parts of the country, their expectations were not met. Many were disappointed and we witnessed voter apathy that is in part, a clear consequence of failures by political elites and, unfortunately, also by INEC.
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“Public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged on 25 February due to lack of transparency and operational failures in the conduct of the federal level polls.
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“Up until the postponement, INEC continued to abstain from providing information, limiting its communication to a few press releases and ceremonial statements and hence failing to address public grievances and rebuild confidence in the electoral process.
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