ECOWAS Commend Nigerians, INEC, Security Agencies Over Conduct Of Polls

Following the conduct of the general elections last Saturday February 23, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), election observation mission (EOM) commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Security Agencies for their dedication and professionalism.

In a statement dated February 24 and signed by the Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appreciates the efforts of political parties for their commitment, demonstration of maturity during the process.

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The Mission also congratulated the civil society, the Media, domestic and international observer groups for their contributions and commitment to the strengthening of the democratic process in Nigeria.

While congratulating the voters and the good people of Nigeria, the Mission noted that their patriotism, tolerance, and sense of duty contributed to maintenance of  peace and stability in spite of the many challenges encountered.

The statement reads in part: “Even though large numbers of voters arrived and formed queues by 8.00 am, the late delivery of materials and arrival of polling officials led to delays in the commencement of voting in most places, in some instances for up to five hours.

“In most of the polling units visited, there was an effective presence of security agents and domestic and international observers. Out of 73 political parties, mainly the APC and PDP had agents at polling units.

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“The Mission also notes the security challenges that occurred on the day of elections. Particularly in Maiduguri where,  prior to the commencement of polls, heavy shelling was heard. This situation undoubtedly affected the voter turnout as voters could not turn out in numbers to vote under such circumstances.

“Despite the widespread delays witnessed at the commencement of the polls, the voting process went on smoothly in a majority of polling units when they got underway.

“However, the smooth flow of the process was disrupted by malfunctioning of the Smartcard Readers (SCRs) in a number of polling units. In some cases, this situation caused agitation among the voters who had been waiting in queues for long hours, forcing some polling officials to resort to manual accreditation.

“There were also disruptions due to the outbreak of violence in some places, which resulted in the loss of lives and election materials. Voters generally comported themselves and exhibited amazing patience and tolerance, contributing to peaceful conduct on the day.

“The Mission also notes that it took INEC a long time to respond to the public on the challenges that arose during the polls.

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“Due to the late start in the majority of Polling Units visited, polling generally went on past the official closing time of 2:00 pm to compensate for time lost earlier in the day thereby enabling voters in the queue to cast their votes.

“Our observers however noted an incident at Kofar Gayam in Nasarawa State where a Presiding Officer arbitrarily tried to end the process before all the voters in the queue were able to cast their votes. This truncated the process for about an hour before normalcy was restored to allow voters to cast their votes.

“Our observers in Port Harcourt also reported that elections could not hold in the entire Akuku Toru and Bonny Local Government Areas (LGAs) and a number of polling units in Okrika LGA in the Rivers State due to disruption of the voting process.

While calling on INEC and other stakeholders to approach the final phases of the process with fairness and transparency until the announcement of the final results the Mission urges INEC to take steps to address the many shortcomings, including operational capacity and systems that were observed all through the process.

The mission also appeals to leaders, candidates and their supporters and the press to show tolerance and restraint leading up to and after the announcement of the results.

“In the spirit of the commitment made in the Peace Accord of 13 February 2019, the Mission urges the candidates to accept the verdict of the polls in good faith, and in case of complaints, to seek redress by legal means solely,” the statement added.

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