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The United States government Tuesday urges Nigeria to hold free, fair and
inclusive elections in 2019 as Nigerians celebrate the day on which
democracy and civilian rule were restored.
In a statement by the US and its allies said , ” The struggle to achieve
democracy gives it a special value and places responsibility on all of us
to support the democratic process. We congratulate Nigeria on its
progress since 1999, including the first peaceful transition of power from
a ruling party to an opposition party in 2015. As we celebrate your
progress, we encourage and support Nigeria and its people to consolidate
and deepen democracy as the country heads towards important elections next
year.
“Who will win the general elections in 2019 is a decision for the Nigerian
people. Our concern as partners of Nigeria is to see a process that is
free, fair and inclusive. We are particularly keen to see greater
participation in politics from under-represented groups, including women,
young people and people with disabilities.
“We offer our strong support to the Independent National Elections
Commission (INEC) and welcome the technical improvements they have
introduced to the electoral process. We encourage the government and
legislators to work with INEC to achieve further improvements at least six
months before the elections, in line with the established ECOWAS protocol.
“Democracy is not only about the voting process. It also requires a strong
and ongoing commitment from political actors to uphold the democratic
ideal. We have noted with concern recent reports of violence, intimidation
and corruption, both within parties and between parties. We take
advantage of this national celebration of democracy to urge all political
parties to maintain Nigerian and international norms and support a
credible process.
It is the fundamental right of the Nigerian people to freely express their
will now and in the forthcoming elections.
Signatories:
European Union, Germany, France, United Kingdom, United States, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain,
Sweden.