By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has commenced the implementation of some of the recommendations by stakeholders from the 2023 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this during the maiden visit of the new European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, to the commission on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that INEC had already commenced work on the review of its planning tools such as the Strategic Plan and the Election Project Plan for future elections.

Yakubu said that since the 2023 general elections, the commission had received reports from many of the 206 national and foreign groups and international organisations accredited to observe the elections.

He said that the stakeholders, including European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM), had made a total of 23 recommendations, eight of which required actions by the commission.

Yakubu stated that 15 of the recommendations also required actions by the executive, the judiciary and legislature as well as other stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, the media, faith-based organisations and political parties.

“The eight specific recommendations for INEC relate to the dissemination of the commission’s regulations and guidelines for election, training of election duty staff and deployment of electoral technology.

“Others are result management process, continuous registration of voters, cleaning up of the voters’ register, participation of marginalised groups in the electoral process and voting by internally-displaced persons (IDPs).

“On our part, the commission undertook an extensive internal and external review of the 2023 general elections involving the participation of our own officials and stakeholders across the board.

“We produced a 524-page main report and a 74-page review report containing 142 recommendations. The two reports have already been uploaded to our website,” he said.

The INEC chairman said that the commission had also commenced the implementation of aspects of the recommendations that required only administrative action.

“For instance, in some of the off-cycle, re-run and bye-elections conducted since the general elections, there has been improvement in the quality of training of ad hoc staff, involving the deployment of more BVAS machines for this purpose,” he said.

Yakubu said there had also been tremendous improvement in the functionality of BVAS machines in voter accreditation, using fingerprint or facial authentication.

He further stated that election results were more speedily uploaded to the IReV.

Yakubu said that voter registration in Edo and Ondo states, ahead of the governorship elections, was better coordinated while collection of PVCs was almost seamless, with 80 per cent of the cards collected by eligible voters.

“The perennial problem of logistics was also vigorously addressed in the recent Ondo State governorship election.

“We are working hard to improve other aspects of electoral operations.

“The arrival of your mid-term mission later this year will provide an opportunity for a full review of the 2023 EU-EOM report,” he said.

While welcoming the new EU ambassador to Nigeria, Yakubu pledged INEC’s continued relationship with the organisation.

He said that INEC welcomed EU’s assurance of continuous collaboration with INEC, as both bodies approached the third phase of the European Union-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN).

Yakubu, however, clarified some misconceptions about the funding support from EU and other development partners to INEC on electoral processes in Nigeria.

He said that INEC did not receive direct funding, while it did not also have an account into which donor funds were warehoused.

“The EU and other development partners provide indirect support in areas such as the publication of reports, retreats, engagement with stakeholders as well as consultancy and technical support services in various areas through the implementing partners selected and appointed by them.

“Their support does not involve any direct funding of core electoral activities of the commission, such as voter registration and production of PVCs,” he said.

Yakubu added that it did not involve direct funding of training and remuneration of ad hoc staff, electoral logistics and procurement of sensitive materials, including election technology.

“These activities remain the sovereign responsibility of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he said.

In his remarks, Mignot said that EU was not in Nigeria to meddle in the internal political life of the country.

He said that political neutrality had always been at the core of the organisation’s communication.

Reiterating EU’s long-standing partnership with Nigeria, Mignot said that it had committed €19 million to support Nigeria’s democracy and governance.

“We are in the middle of a project of support to democratic governance in Nigeria with a €19 million envelope of cooperation with the INEC,” he said.

He said that through the funding, EU was focused on ensuring that Nigeria’s electoral system remained credible and trusted by citizens.

Mignot further stated that aside the financial support, EU’s contributions also included: technical assistance and sharing of best practices from European nations.

“We are not here to impose or dictate. Our aim is to share our experiences, offer expertise and learn from Nigeria’s unique context to create a more resilient and effective democratic system,” he said. (NAN)