Five international election observation missions to Nigeria on Monday in Abuja presented their assessments of the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.
EU EOM commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the elections. It said the electoral commission made a number of improvements since 2015, including continuous accreditation and voting.
AU observed that the political space has significantly broadened, as evidenced by the high number of registered voters, political parties and candidates who took part in the elections.
It said despite some reports of election-related violence, deaths and intimidation, the overall political climate remained largely peaceful and conducive for the conduct of democratic elections
The AU also commended the fact that the 2019 elections were internally driven, and largely funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
It also recognised efforts by the INEC, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to increase participation of women, youth and persons with disability (PWDs) in the electoral process.
“In particular, it notes that women and youth recorded a high number of registered voters, 47.14 per cent for women and 51.1 per cent for youth, which is a notable increase compared to the 2015 elections.
Pan African Women Project, an International Election Observer Group, has described the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in Kano state as free, fair and peaceful.
The leader of the Group, Ms Belinda Maduna, made the remark at a post-election press conference held in Kano on Tuesday. She said the election in Kano state was not only free and fair, but also peaceful, while eligible voters were allowed to exercise their franchise.
She said that there was adequate security at all the polling units, adding that there was no reports of violence or ballot box snatching during the election.
“The security personnel did a great job during the election because there was no violence or ballot box snatching. Kano is a model despite its large population.”
She commended the Independent National Electoral Commission staff for their dedication and commitment to duty during the exercise.
“The observation made by our group was that 67 per cent of the polling units in Kano began accreditation of voters between between 8:30am and 9:00am,” she said.