A EU Election Observation Mission report released on Tuesday claims that Nigeria’s 2023 general elections were not transparent and democratic. According to the report, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), destroyed public trust in the electoral process both during the presidential poll and state-level elections.

As per the report:

The pre-poll environment was volatile and challenging, affected by economic crises. Fundamental freedoms of assembly and movement were broadly respected, yet the full enjoyment of the latter was impeded by insecurity in some parts of the country. Abuse of incumbency by various political office holders distorted the playing field and wide-spread vote buying detracted from the appropriate conduct of the elections. Incidents of organised violence shortly before and on election days in several states created an environment deterring voter participation. The media raised voters’ awareness, fact-checkers stood up against disinformation and civil society demanded INEC’s accountability. The overall outcome of the polls attests to the continued underrepresentation of marginalised groups in political life.

The report points out that Nigeria’s electoral rules have a number of holes that threaten democracy and election transparency. The partiality of the INEC and the absence of independent institutions to impose sanctions for election malpractices are two of the report’s six important issues for reform. The political rights of Nigerians to vote and organize are also violated as a result of these inadequacies.

In spite of INEC’s efforts to increase public confidence, including the implementation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), the report claims the lack of transparency and delays in disclosing presidential results effectively destroyed what little confidence the public may have had. On the day of the election, a number of thefts, disarrays and violations of established protocols severely damaged public trust.

On March 1, INEC announced Bola Tinubu to be the president-elect, with his party continuing to hold the majority in Parliament. The announcement drew criticism from Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who called the election “neither free not fair.” Following the results, numerous outcomes were contested in court, which is yet another institution that the general public doubts.

The EU has urged all relevant parties to safeguard voter interests by eliminating any uncertainties in electoral rules and developing reliable electoral processes that are sensitive to the requirements of women, young people, and marginalized communities.

INEC has responded to the report by stating that”[i]t is not fair to judge the entire performance of the commission on the basis of a glitch in the result upload for the presidential election.”