A joint delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) has warned against hate speeches and violence before and during the 2019 general elections, saying they are capable of posing threats to the exercise.
The delegation on the platform of the Nigeria International Election Observation Mission (NIEOM) also tasked security agencies in the country on neutrality in order to make the elections credible against the backdrop that the elections will be conducted in an environment of insecurity in some parts of the country.
The calls were made yesterday by the delegation led by a former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield; former USAID senior official, Lewis Lucke; ex-diplomat Dickson Omondi; NDI Kenya Resident Country Director, Dickson Omondi; and IRI Africa Regional Director, John Tomaszewski.
Thomas-Greenfield said the IRI/NDI conducted a third pre-election assessment mission between December 14 to 19, 2018 as part of their joint observation of Nigeria’s 2019 general elections having conducted an initial pre-election assessment in July 2018.
The delegation said it met with a wide array of election stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties and their candidates, members of the judiciary, civil society organisations, media practitioners, security officials, and senior government officials.
She added that the delegation conducted its activities in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, which was launched at the United Nations, and the laws of Nigeria.
“Recent attacks in the North-East have raised concerns about Boko Haram’s resurgence. In the Middle-Belt, inter-communal violence continues, while criminality and gang violence across the country, particularly in the South-South, is on the rise. As NDI/IRI’s previous delegations noted, if insecurity persists or increases, this could deter citizens from participating in the electoral process, including voting on Election Day,” the delegation said.
On the role of security forces, NDI/IRI said: “As in July and September, Nigerian stakeholders across sectors expressed lack of confidence in the neutrality of security services. They cautioned that interference in the election process by security forces, perceived or otherwise, could undermine confidence in the electoral process.”
The delegation thereafter offered what it called “tangible steps” needed to promote credible and peaceful elections with less than two month to the exercise. It called on INEC to take proactive and concerted efforts to instill public confidence.
