The European Union has pleaded with Nigerians to rely on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for results of the Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly polls.
The European Union said the social media is not a credible source.
Barry Andrew, EU Chief Observer and Head of EU EOM, said “Social media was actively used by political actors as a campaign tool. However, the platforms were misused to spread harmful content, including disinformation on key electoral processes; the measures the platforms took to protect electoral integrity were insufficient.
” Misleading information also came from political actors and contributed to a blurredinformation environment for voters.”
He however commended the media and the Civil Societu Organisation for joining forces to fact check.
He said, “Online and offline media joined forces with civil society and fact checkers to safeguard the integrity of the preelection information environment. Realtime fact checking of gubernatorial and other contestants’ debates strived to hold candidates accountable, while various formats of voter information, raised voter awareness and helped to counter electoral insecurity, complementing INEC efforts.”
Speaking on the general process, Andrew said it was ibserved that it lacks transparency.
Besides, he pointed out that it was observed that the operational failures witnessed reduced trust in the process.
EU also said despite the confidence reposed in INEC by stakeholders, the electoral body’s lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process, including on election day.
Andrew said, “On 25 February, Nigerians went to the polls in highly anticipated presidential and National Assembly
elections that the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) kept on schedule despitea volatile and challenging environment. Fundamental freedoms of assembly and movement were largely respected, yet the full enjoyment of the latter was impeded by insufficient planning, insecurity and the prevailing Naira and fuel shortages.
” Abuse of incumbency by various political office holdersdistorted the playing
fieldand there werewidespread allegations of vote buying.
“The EU EOM is continuing its observation of the ongoing collation and tabulation of
results throughout the country.
“INEC’soperational capacity was hampered by the ongoing fuel and Naira shortage. Insecurity prevented
itfrom accessing someLocal Government Areas (LGAs), notably in the South. Attacks on INEC premises,
including just days before polling, hindered preparations in affected areas, while instilling fear in voters.
“Overall, stakeholders had expressed confidence in INEC’s independence, professionalism, and voter
information efforts, but this decreasedahead of elections.
“INEC lacked efficient planning and transparency
during critical stages of the electoral process, while on election day trust in INECwas seen to further
reduce duetodelayedpolling processesandinformation gaps related to much anticipated access to results
on its Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
“In the lead-up to elections, the widely welcomed Electoral Act 2022 introduced measures aimed at
building stakeholder trust, however leaving some important gaps in terms ofaccountabilityand INEC’s
power to enforce the law.
“Weak points include a lack of INEC empowerment to enforce sanctions for
electoral offences and breaches of campaign finance rules. Positively, INEC benefited from more timely
financingthan for previous contests. Other new provisions also aimed to enhance transparency of results.
“The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReVfor the 2023 elections
was perceived as an important step to ensure the integrity and credibility of elections.
“However, delayed
training of technical personnel, an inadequate mock testing exercise, and a lack of public information on
the election technologies diminished expectationsand left room for speculation and uncertainty.
“During the early stages of collation, presidential result forms from polling units were not displayed on the
IReV, while Senate and Houseof Representative results were slowly published.
“Presidential election result
forms started to be uploaded after 10 pm on election day, raising concerns and reaching only 20 per cent
by noon on 26 February. Later the same evening, INEC explained the delay with “technical hitches.”
