The Independent National Election Commission has received criticism from the European Union for falling short of expectations in Nigeria’s voting process.
In his preliminary report on the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections on Monday, the Chief Observer of the EU Election Observation Mission, Barry Andrews, stated that while Nigerians hungered for democracy and were prepared to participate in it, their enthusiasm was sated by the failures of the political elites and INEC.
Andrews said, “Throughout the mission, we saw that Nigerians have a great appetite for democracy and are keen to engage in various civic activities. However, in many parts of the country, their expectations were not met. Many were disappointed and we witnessed voter apathy that is in part a clear consequence of failures by political elites and, unfortunately, also by INEC.
“Public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged on 25 February due to lack of transparency and operational failures in the conduct of the federal level polls. Up until the postponement, INEC continued to abstain from providing information, limiting its communication to a few press releases and ceremonial statements and hence failing to address public grievances and rebuild confidence in the electoral process.
“Positively, INEC introduced some corrective measures ahead of Saturday’s polls, allowing a timely delivery of sensitive materials and improved use of election technologies, yet the institution continued to lack transparency.”
According to Andrew, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System was not as problematic on March 18 as it was on February 25.