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INEC Reacts to Report Showing Severe Lapses in 2019 Elections
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to a report by civil society groups in Nigeria which portrays the 2019 general elections in the country as being below the standard set by the electoral commission in its conduct of 2015 elections.
The report released Tuesday in Abuja by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room said INEC appeared ill-prepared for the elections which were marred by violence, voter intimidation, vote-stealing, and voter apathy.
The report also examined the role of the Nigerian government, security agencies, and political parties in undermining the country’s electoral process.
INEC on Tuesday said it would study the report, alongside those released by other observers.
“In line with its commitment to improving the electoral system, the Commission has just completed its internal review process and will harvest all the recommendations from this and other observer reports with a view to deepening democracy in Nigeria,” Rotimi Oyekanmi, a spokesperson to INEC chairman, said in a statement.
“The commission is conscious of its responsibilities and expectations of all Nigerians and is determined to ensure that free, fair and credible elections are conducted at all times.”
The report by the civil society groups recommended that INEC should commence an immediate “push” for reforms of Nigeria’s electoral process.
“The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill passed by the National Assembly and declined by the President, should be re-introduced, passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to the President for Assent.
“In addition, amendments to the Electoral Act should include altering section 68, that gives unquestioning powers to the Returning Officer to declare results for an election even where such Returning Officer may have done so dubiously or as a result of coercion.
“Criminal infractions committed en route to the declaration of results should also compel the review of results announced from such incident without requiring that remedial action be only possible through litigation at either the election Tribunal level or in the Courts,” the report said.
The Situation Room is made up of 72 civil society groups across Nigeria. It serves as “a coordinating platform for civil society engagement on governance issues”.
Twenty-four thousand observers were deployed by the groups to monitor the elections in Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja.
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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.”
