Media report Tuesday to the effect that the European Union (EU) is in the middle of a project of support to democracy and governance in Nigeria with the sum of €19 billion signals a good omen for the evolution of the nation’s 26 years unbroken democracy. The gesture is also significant as it implies an endorsement and recognition of Nigeria as a model of democratic norms and practices in Africa.

The new head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, made the disclosure during his maiden visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja. He said the global body was ready to engender more cooperation needed between it and Nigeria.

The EU, however, stated that its cooperation with Nigeria was not only in monetary terms but also in deploying other members of its diplomatic community to follow the development of elections at federal or state levels. The envoy said other areas of cooperation included the electoral observation missions, “like the one we had in the last election, in particular the federal elections in 2023.”

Mignot said the EU “will assume a follow-up on this electoral observation. And we also coordinate the group of flag-burning countries”. He noted that while other democracies were also bringing their cooperation to Nigeria, the EU delegation was very proud to continue to partner with Nigeria.

It is instructive that INEC, particularly under its current chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, has carried out series of reforms aimed at enhancing electoral efficiency, transparency, accountability, and the seamless conduct of elections across the nooks and crannies of the country.

The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), Online Registration Portal (ORP), Smart Card Readers (SCR), Electronic Collation System (ECS), INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV), Geographic Information System Mapping (GISM), Electronic Observations Portal (EOP), among several others, are some of the automated innovations by the Prof. Yakubu-led INEC towards improving Nigeria’s electoral system.

Notwithstanding this feat, the INEC chairman acknowledges the fact that more is still desirable in the management and conduct of elections in the country. “There has been incremental improvement in our electoral process over the last six electoral cycles. However, we also appreciate that a lot of work lies ahead”, Prof. Yakubu told the EU envoy.

In the aftermath of the 2023 general elections, the INEC received reports from many of the 206 national and foreign groups and international organisations accredited to observe the elections. In its report, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) made a total of 23 recommendations. Eight of these recommendations require action by the INEC and 15 by the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of government 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, deployment of electoral technology, result management process, continuous registration of voters, the cleaning up of the voters’ register, the participation of marginalised groups in the electoral process and voting by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

Consequently, Yakubu explained that on its part, the INEC undertook an extensive internal and external review of the 2023 general elections involving the participation of the commission’s 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.

“We welcome the EU’s assurance of continuous engagement and collaboration with the commission as we approach the third phase of the European Union-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) under which funding support is provided to several institutions and groups that play a role in democracy and governance in Nigeria from INEC to the National Assembly, the judiciary, political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, the media and the National Peace Committee”, he told the visiting EU envoy.

For several years, particularly since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the EU’s partnership with the INEC and other stakeholders has helped to consolidate the electoral and democratic process in Nigeria.

In as much as INEC’s revolutionary reforms of Nigeria’s electoral system, including the legal frameworks, are commendable, a situation where the courts determine electoral outcomes is deplorable. In a plethora of cases, candidates who lost elections through the ballot have approached the court to upturn their defeat and affirm them as the duly elected office holders.

This seeming aberration is not only a usurpation of the powers of INEC but also a breach of the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which mandates the electoral umpire to conduct elections and declare the winners thereof. Furthermore, a resort to the courts to claim electoral victory is antithetical to the development of democracy which is anchored on the emergence of elected office holders by majority votes.

It bears reiterating the fact that the syndrome of do-or-die elections has triggered the desperation of political parties and their candidates to win elections by any means fair or foul. The resultant electoral malpractices and violence usually stretch the INEC to its limit. INEC is forced to contend with overwhelming electoral disputes, litigation and disruptive off-cycle elections.

It is, therefore, our considered opinion that all the critical stakeholders, such as the INEC, political parties and their candidates, civil society organisations, the media, etc., must collaborate in order to make the ongoing reforms of the nation’s electoral system yield the desired result and impact. (Blueprint Editorial)

• The new head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, during his maiden visit to the INEC headquarters in Abuja.