{"id":103343,"date":"2023-02-27T18:56:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T17:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=103343"},"modified":"2023-02-27T18:56:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T17:56:20","slug":"foreign-observers-discredit-nigerias-election-says-inec-not-transparent-below-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/foreign-observers-discredit-nigerias-election-says-inec-not-transparent-below-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Observers Discredit Nigeria\u2019s Election, Says INEC Not Transparent, Below Expectations\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1759002271316007354\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div class=\"mail-message-header spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div id=\"m_-1521172967009415735mvp-content-main\" data-width=\"740px\" data-minwidth=\"\" data-maxwidth=\"\">\n<p>The International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM) have presented their preliminary statement on the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>On Monday in Abuja, the leader, Dr Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, congratulated the people for \u201ctheir resilience and enthusiasm\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite large crowds in some polling stations and long waits, Nigerian voters demonstrated commitment to participate in the process and a strong desire to have their voices heard,\u201d Banda said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<div id=\"m_-1521172967009415735div-gpt-ad-1574186166799-0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The mission noted that despite the reforms to the Electoral Act 2022, \u201cthe election fell well short of Nigerian citizens\u2019 reasonable expectations\u201d, while the electoral commission lacked transparency.<\/p>\n<p>Banda said logistical challenges and multiple incidents of political violence overshadowed the electoral process and impeded a substantial number of voters from participating.<br \/>\nNDI\/IRI confirmed currency and fuel shortages imposed excessive burdens on voters and election officials while marginalized groups, especially women, continue to face barriers to seeking and obtaining political office.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The delegation observed that the late opening of polling locations and logistical failures created tensions and the secrecy of the ballot was compromised in some polling units given overcrowding.<\/p>\n<p>Banda said after the polls, challenges with the electronic transfer of results and their upload to a public portal in a timely manner, undermined citizen confidence at a crucial moment of the process.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cInadequate communication and lack of transparency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about their cause and extent created confusion and eroded voters\u2019 trust in the process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe combined effect of these problems disenfranchised Nigerian voters in many areas, although the scope and scale is currently unknown,\u201d the ex-President added.<\/p>\n<p>The statement, however, commended INEC for conducting the general elections according to the electoral calendar \u201cfor the first time in the country\u2019s recent history\u201d.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"m_-1521172967009415735taboola-below-article-thumbnails1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"m_-1521172967009415735mvp-content-bot\" data-width=\"740px\" data-minwidth=\"\" data-maxwidth=\"\">\n<div data-width=\"740px\" data-minwidth=\"\" data-maxwidth=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-footer spacer collapsible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM) have presented their preliminary statement on the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria. On&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Foreign Observers Discredit Nigeria\u2019s Election, Says INEC Not Transparent, Below Expectations\u00a0 - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/foreign-observers-discredit-nigerias-election-says-inec-not-transparent-below-expectations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Foreign Observers Discredit Nigeria\u2019s Election, Says INEC Not Transparent, Below Expectations\u00a0 - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) Joint Election Observation Mission (IEOM) have presented their preliminary statement on the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria. 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