Two international election observers, National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the amended Electoral Act recently passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly on or before August 16.
The appeal was contained in the report of the joint IRI-NDI preelection assessment mission delegation which was unveiled to the media in Abuja on Friday.
According to the report, the speedy assent of the Electoral Act (Amendment) by President Buhari would give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sufficient time to implement the electoral changes in accordance with the ECOWAS protocol to which Nigeria is a signatory.
The IRI-NDI delegation said from their interactions with INEC officials, the electoral umpire believed that the Bill to amend the Electoral Act would strengthen its ability to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the political party candidate nomination process for all elected offices.
“Changes to the Electoral Act would also require INEC to make the voter register and election results electronic and accessible; increase the campaign period from 90 to 150 days; and extend the application of the Electoral Act to local government elections.” They also called on the federal government to “approve and obligate INEC’s requested budget in a timely manner and ensure other government agencies involved in the electoral process receive sufficient and timely funding.” The international election observation mission led by Dr.
Pauline Baker, President Emeritus of the Fund for Peace (USA), noted that insecurity may jeopardize the 2019 general election and called on the federal government to intensify efforts to address the menace in many parts of the country.
The report stated that “Nigeria faces security challenges from a number of non-state actors that, if unchecked, could disrupt the electoral process.
Boko Haram continues to carry out terrorist attacks on communities in the North East.
During its visit, the delegation heard reports of the attack by the extremist group on a military base in Yobe.
“At the same time, the death toll from clashes between pastoralist and farming communities in the Middle Belt has risen since 2017.
The conflicts are further exacerbated by illicit trade in weapons and stolen cattle by criminal gangs.
In some circles, the inability of security forces to quell this inter-communitarian violence is given political and religious overtones.
“Persistent insecurity and violence have led to very high numbers of internally displaced persons in the North East and Middle Belt that could pose specific challenges for the conduct of elections in the impacted areas.
The report also noted that “there is an increase in the level and visibility of vote buying in the country and stressed that vote buying is an electoral offense, undermines the legitimacy of elections and weakens representative democracy.
The lack of enforcement of punishments for this electoral offense has allowed the practice to persist and grow”.