Football

Wenger mum on Elneny signing

Published

11 years ago

on

December 30, 2015

By

Feyijimi Emmanuel

ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger refused to deny his interest in signing Mohamed Elneny amid reports of a medical taking place on Tuesday.

Reports suggested the FC Basel midfielder underwent a medical in Paris after personal terms were agreed.

Asked whether a deal was close, Wenger said: “You know more than me.

“Sadly we cannot announce anything at the moment. Nothing has been concluded.”

The 23-year-old is expected to provide cover in midfield, where Arsenal have suffered a number of injuries.

Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta are all out currently.

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Vote-buying remains a major concern One of the strongest warnings from Osun was the continued presence of vote-buying and voter inducement. Yiaga Africa said the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were consistent with its independent statistical projections, but cautioned that this did not remove concerns about the integrity of voters' choices amid reports of vote-buying and inducement. The concern is particularly significant ahead of 2027, when political competition will take place nationwide and involve presidential, National Assembly and state-level contests. The International Republican Institute (IRI), following a pre-election assessment mission conducted in August, identified monetised political competition, election-related violence, insecurity and declining public confidence in INEC among the structural challenges facing the 2027 elections. 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For security agencies, it means preventing electoral violence and ensuring that investigations and prosecutions are not selective. Political parties also face pressure to take greater responsibility for the conduct of their candidates, agents and supporters, particularly over voter inducement and intimidation. A bigger test awaits in 2027 The central lesson from Osun may be that a technically transparent election is not automatically the same as a completely free election. Electronic transmission can make results easier to monitor, but technology cannot by itself prevent voters from being offered money, threatened or pressured before they cast their ballots. IRI's latest assessment similarly stressed that the credibility of the 2027 elections will depend not only on technical administration but also on security, consistent application of electoral rules, timely communication and public confidence in INEC. With Nigeria's 2027 general elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, the Osun experience provides both a warning and an opportunity: the country has made progress in electoral transparency, but vote-buying, insecurity and declining trust must be confronted before they are magnified across a nationwide election.

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