Nigeria's Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to the impression in some sections of the public that the Commission received huge sums of money from development partners for the election, says, on the contrary, and for the avoidance of doubt, the Commission did not receive any direct funding or cash support from international development partners.
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this today, 24th July 2023 at a meeting with leaders of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the review of the 2023 General election in Abuja.
The Commission at the meeting also shared with leaders of CSOs plans for the upcoming bye-elections and preparations for the off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States scheduled for Saturday 11th November 2023.
Prof Yakubu revealed to CSOs that international development partners support was totally indirect through civil society organisations and implementing partners working on elections.
According to him it has been a longstanding policy of the present Commission not to receive direct funding and cash transfers from sources other than the Federal Government of Nigeria. "We hope that we shall continue to have this type of productive partnership with civil society and development partners in the future.",he said.
Prof Yakubu stressed that it is in furtherance of this partnership that the Commission accredits observers because the feedback we receive, and their actionable recommendations have been very helpful to the electoral process. For the 2023 General Election, the Commission received 538 requests (504 domestic and 34 foreign) for accreditation as observers.
"After a thorough evaluation of the requests, only 228 groups (190 domestic and 38 foreign) met the requirements for accreditation. However, so far, only 67 observer groups (62 domestic and five foreign) have so far submitted their observation reports which represents just about 30% of the accredited groups for the election. We urge all accredited observer groups that are yet to submit their reports to do so in earnest." he explained.
The INEC boss laments the deployment of thugs by some political actors which made election day administration difficult in a number of places. While voter accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was very successful, the uploading of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), especially for the presidential election, encountered a glitch as explained in INEC statement released by the Commission on 26th February 2023.
Giving account of the Commission, INEC boss says INEC is aware that this matter is currently the subject of litigation and would reserve its comments for now. Nevertheless, the performance of the technology deployed for the election is part of the ongoing review of the 2023 General Election.
"It will form an integral part of the comprehensive report that will serve as a basis for further engagement with stakeholders focusing on specific actions necessary for the improvement of future elections and electoral activities in Nigeria.
"On this note, it is appropriate for the Commission to express its appreciation to civil society organisations and development partners for their enormous support to the Commission during the 2023 General Election. This came in the form of technical advice, civic and voter education, organisation of meetings and capacity-building workshops, as well as the publication of documents."he noted.
In her word, the representative of CSOs said, out of 228 accredited observers groups, only 67 groups have submitted their reports of the 2023 General Election which is not so good for the Civil Society Organisations CSOs. She urged her colleagues to encourage the accredited Observers groups to submit their reports.