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EU Submits 2019 Elections Report To INEC
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has submitted its findings and recommendations on the 2019 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Maria Arena, EU Chief Observer, while submitting the report to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in Abuja, said the union would on Saturday make public the report of its monitoring of the elections.
Maria Arena who did not disclose the content of the report, said that the submission would be made open to journalists and members of the public to seek clarifications on the issues raised in the report.
The EU chief observer said that the union had been part of Nigeria’s electoral process since 1999.
The union deployed 73 observers to 223 polling units and 81 collation centers in 22 states for the 2019 general elections.
Receiving the report, INEC chairman also noted that the EU had been part of Nigeria’s steady progress towards democratic consolidation since 1999.
The INEC Chairman said that the commission had adopted the EU recommendations on previous elections.
Yakubu further said the recommendations included simultaneous accreditation and voting processes on election day, adding that it was first used for the 2015 Bayelsa governorship election and subsequent elections in the country.
He said the observations and recommendations of the EU election observation mission to the 2015 general elections were particularly useful.
Yakubu said the recommendations were used for the design of some important proposals for reforming the electoral legal framework and in improving the electoral processes and procedures.
The INEC chairman pledged that the commission would look into the recommendations of the report.
He gave the assurance that the recommendations on 2019 elections would form the benchmarks in the reform to be submitted to the National Assembly.
“Every election in any democracy around the world is work in progress. We, therefore, look forward to the full EU EOM report and recommendations on the elections. We are confident that there will be useful lessons for the commission as we prepare for future elections.
“Indeed, the report is coming at the right time as it will feed into our ongoing review of the conduct of the elections. Let me assure you that the commission will again quickly focus attention on the electoral legal framework in addition to several other areas of reform. We will study in detail all your recommendations as part of our ongoing internal review of the 2019 general elections which we hope to conclude in the next two months,” he concluded.
The INEC Chairman commended the EU for its interest in Nigeria’s democratic processes.
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The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
