The UN has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s democratic journey, describing the nation’s electoral success as a critical benchmark for the stability and progress of the African continent.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, stated this when he led a delegation to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja.

Congratulating the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan on his appointment, Fall said the world is expecting to learn from Nigeria, due to its demographic weight and its electoral processes.

“Your success will be our success. Democracy in Nigeria has evolved over the past 27 years, as something defining to the history and trajectory of the country.

“Because of the stakes involved, the United Nations family of 26 agencies is ready to put our global expertise and best practices at your disposal,” he said.

Fall, who previously served as a UNICEF representative in Nigeria, noted that elections were not merely operational but a vital part of the development process.

He highlighted the UN’s “Leave No One Behind” principle, stressing the need for the inclusion of youth, women, and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).

“We have been supporting young people to participate, we have been supporting women to participate, we have been supporting PWDs, because everything we do in UN, is founded on a principle “leave no one behind.’’ he said.

Ms. Elsie Attafuah, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, said that the UN looked forward to continued support and work hand-in-hand with INEC at crucial times.

Attafuah noted the the long-standing partnership between the UN and INEC, dated back to 1999, even earlier.

“UN had been part of INEC successes, especially, the introduction of technology in the country’s electoral process.

“I think some of the technological advancements and improvement that happened with INEC, the United Nations family was part of that story.

“Over the years, we’ve worked together to ensure that there’s more inclusion from the youth and gender point of view.

“Over the years, we’ve been supporting with voter education, institutional strengthening and sometimes embedding technical capacity also within to support you,’’ she said.

Attafuah, noted that the UN supports approximately 60 elections globally every year and is keen on leveraging existing programs on human rights, gender equality and parliamentary development to assist Nigeria.

“Nigeria is providing great leadership through the Regional Partnership for Democracy.

“If Nigeria succeeds, Africa advances. We are happy to support you as you work on important milestones for this great country,” Attafuah said.

In his remarks, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, commended the UN renewed partnership with INEC.

He identified public trust, voter apathy, and insecurity as the primary challenges facing Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in Africa.

The Chairman requested UN assistance in the areas of voter education to combat voter apathy, combating disinformation.

Amupitan also listed other support needed to include the strengthening of the commission’s Gender and Inclusivity Department (GID) to better serve Persons with Disabilities (PWDs),

” The commission Braille and specialised aids.

“Secondly, you also have the issue of voter apathy and issue of security,

“It is our responsibility to ensure that you manage all those things together, all those challenges.

“So those are some of the areas we will be liaising with the UN .’’ he said.

Amupitan, informed the UN delegation that the commission was taking proactive steps to clean the national voters’ register and remove deceased persons and all duplicates.

“Our hope is that every election we conduct will be better than the last one,” the chairman said.

He cited the recent successful conduct of FCT area council elections and upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in June and August, as testing grounds for improved result transmission technology and logistics tracking.

“We are in line with best practices in the use of technology.

“Results are transmitted to our portal to ensure transparency, allowing voters to compare real-time data with what is provided at polling units,” he added. (NAN)

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