Foreign Observers Hail INEC, Regret Violence In Some Places
The Heads of International Observers Election Groups have applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the Presidential/National Assembly polls on Saturday.
Million of Nigerian citizens voted in what is arguably one of Nigeria’s most anticipated general elections.
International Observers Election Groups include the African Union led by former president Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and the commonwealth team led by former president Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.
Two days after the elections were held, the observers submitted their preliminary report to the electoral umpire.
Despite the commendation, they decried a situation whereby violence broke out in some states of the country.
They foreign observers pointed out lapses in the late arrival of voting materials, violence in some parts of the country, and reported cases of ballot snatching in some states.
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Similarly, observers from the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) expressed concerns over the violence that erupted in some parts of the country.
Leader of the NDI/IRI election observer group, Dr Joyce Banda, who was speaking at a news conference in Abuja noted that while the signing of the Peace Accord offered the presidential aspirants the opportunity to caution their supporters, it failed to achieve the aim.
The group stated that the election fell short of its expectation owing to a lack of adequate logistics and political violence amongst others.
On their part, the European Union Observer Mission raised concerns about vote buying, violence, and delay in the deployment and commencement of the elections.
The E.U Chief Election Observer, Barry Andrews also shared concerns about the lack of transparency by INEC over its delay to upload results on its portal promptly.
The election observer group also expressed concerns over the inability of some eligible voters to perform their civic duties owing to cash crunch and fuel shortages.
Currently, Nigerians await the final results of the election where the electoral body will declare the winner of the keenly contested polls.
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