The European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria published its final report on the federal and state elections of 25 February and 18 March.

The Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament, stated: “In the lead up to the 2023 general elections Nigerian citizens demonstrated a clear commitment to the democratic process. That said, the election exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signal a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.”

Following the outcome of the elections, particularly the presidential election, and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s eventual declaration of the then candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the winner, tongues have been wagging and discussions have continued around the process.

The two major opposition parties- the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Labour Party, LP, and their presidential candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, as well as about three other political parties, disagreed with the outcome of the elections and have since gone to the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal to challenge it.

Following a three-month-long observation across Nigeria, and in accordance with its usual practice, the EU EOM is now pleased to present its findings and recommendations. Shortcomings in law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in INEC. With the aim of contributing to the improvement of future elections, the EU EOM is offering 23 recommendations for consideration by the Nigerian authorities.

“We are particularly concerned about the need for reform in six areas which we have identified as priority recommendations, and we believe, if implemented, could contribute to improvements for the conduct of elections.” – said Barry Andrews.

The six priority recommendations point to the need to (1) remove ambiguities in the law, (2) establish a publicly accountable selection process for INEC members, (3) ensure real-time publication of and access to election results, (4) provide greater protection for media practitioners, address (5) discrimination against women in political life, and (6) impunity regarding electoral offenses.

Reactions have sprung up over the last few days

2023 Elections: EU lists Keyamo, Fani-Kayode among top fake news peddlers.

Is anyone surprised!??

— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) July 4, 2023

“There was an increased incidence of misleading information in the days leading up to and during the election. In many cases, false reports were spread by well-known personalities associated with political parties,” stated the EU report released on Tuesday.

Listing Mr Keyamo and Mr Fani-Kayode, who were spokespersons for then-presidential candidate Bola Tinubu’s campaign team, the EU observers’ report cited instances where the duo dished out fake news as they campaigned for their candidate.

The Nigerian Police @PoliceNG watched several violent attacks occur during the elections without lifting a finger.

In some cases, they arrested the journalists who documented the attack, instead of the attacker.” – The EU Election Observation Mission

— oseni rufai (@ruffydfire) July 4, 2023

In page 26 the EU reported, The elections were marred by orchestrated violence widely assessed by stakeholders to have been strategically used to subvert the process and manipulate the elections. In both federal and state-level polls, violent incidents dramatically increased shortly before the election days.
During the observation period, the EU EOM recorded 101 cases of campaign related violence
resulting in 74 fatalities. The majority of recorded incidents were related to the state-level
elections.54 Most violence resulted from the deployment of politically sponsored thugs intended
to intimidate opponents, obstruct opposition campaign activities, and deter supporters and
voters from participation by creating a precarious environment.

“The selection of both INEC commissioners & Resident electoral commissioners were neither transparent nor in line with the non-partisan requirements.”

– The EU Electoral Observation Mission.

— Rinu Oduala 🔥🔫 (@SavvyRinu) July 4, 2023

The Constitution provides that all members of INEC are strictly non-partisan. At the same time,
there is no legal requirement that their selection be undertaken according to merit and
qualification to ensure the independence and efficiency of the institution. CSO examination of
the selection process signalled that the selection process of both INEC commissioners and
RECs were neither transparent nor in line with the non-partisan requirement. The selection of
some commissioners also raised concerns about their professional skills and background. The
selection process leaves the electoral institution vulnerable to being viewed as aligned with the
government.

“The EU said in September last year that it budgeted 39 million euros for Nigeria’s 2023 election. Most of the funding went to INEC as election support. This was confirmed by Samuela Isopi, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),

At the invitation of the Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria, the EU EOM carried out its work between 11 January and 11 April. A delegation of the European Parliament joined the EU EOM for the observation of the Presidential and National Assembly elections. The mission accredited a total of 110 observers from 25 EU Member States, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.

Click link below for the full report:

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/2023/EU%20EOM%20NGA%202023%20FR.pdf