Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, hosting the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel and Chair of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, Ms. Giovanie Biha, on a visit at the Commission’s headwaters in Abuja, reiterated that commitment of the commission to the deployment of technology for voter accreditation and electronic transmission of results in the 2023 general elections. He promised that the commission will not fail Nigeria and the International community.
According to Yakubu, “we will continue to make incremental improvement to our electoral process supported by the deployment of appropriate and relevant technology that will make voter accreditation and result management more credible and transparent.”
Prof. Yakubu noted that before the visit of the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel and Chair of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, Ms. Giovanie Biha, to the Commission, INEC was privileged to host two of her predecessors, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who visited twice before the general election in 2019 and, most recently, and Mahamat Saleh Annadif, who visited in June 2022.
He noted that the visit was in accordance with the long-standing relationship with UNOWAS, in particular, and the United Nations, in general. Yakubu said that not long ago, the Secretary-General deployed the United Nations Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Nigeria, in addition to the sustained support in the areas of voter education, capacity-building and support to our Election Monitoring Support Centre (EMSC) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The INEC chairman stated that the commission appreciates the work of UNOWAS in the areas of preventive diplomacy, political mediation and facilitation in West Africa and the Sahel.
“These are critical conditions for peace. Election Management Bodies are major beneficiaries of your work. This is because elections and electoral activities cannot be successfully conducted in an atmosphere of violence. For this reason, INEC always appreciates the role of UNOWAS in our sub-region and the Sahel,” he said.
Yakubu stated that at different fora, Electoral Commissions in West Africa and beyond have expressed concern about the impact of prevailing insecurity on the conduct of elections, particularly with regard to insurgency, banditry and other forms of armed conflict.
He added that consequently, a 9-nation conference of Electoral Commissions and election experts is holding this week in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, involving Benin Republic, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo from West Africa; and the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo from Central Africa. He said that Nigeria will be making two presentations at the Conference.
The INEC chairman declared: “we believe that your visit today will not only encourage us in our determination to conduct credible, transparent, inclusive and verifiable elections but we will also share the outcome of our discussion with colleagues from other electoral commissions in West Africa and beyond.
“Since your arrival in Nigeria, we have followed your engagements with stakeholders. In particular, we appreciate your fervent appeal for support to the efforts of INEC to conduct peaceful elections. With just 81 days to the 2023 General Election, we have made tremendous progress in our preparations so far. “This is the 7th consecutive General Election since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999. We are aware of the importance of our elections to Nigeria, our sub-region and the world. We assure you that the Commission will not fail the nation and the international community. We will continue to make incremental improvement to our electoral process supported by the deployment of appropriate and relevant technology that will make voter accreditation and result management more credible and transparent.”