Electoral body in Nigeria says it is open to review, improvement
By Babagana Jidda Kanempress
27th July 2023
The Electoral body, in Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it will continue to welcome suggestions to improve future elections and electoral process.
The chairman of the Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said in Abuja on Wednesday at the commission’s meeting with media executives on the review of how the 2023 general elections were conducted.
Professor Yakubu lauded media practitioners for their contributions to the improvement of Nigeria’s electoral system, particularly in information dissemination and sensitization of Nigerians on election processes.
The chairman noted that while there were many positive aspects of the general election, there were also several challenges.
“The commission is aware that aspects of the election are undergoing litigation at various election petition tribunals. While we are careful not to touch on issues that are clearly subjudice, it is appropriate to review the election broadly as enumerated on the agenda for this meeting,” he said.
Yakubu solicited the cooperation and advice of media practitioners in the review of the 2023 general elections to improve future elections in the country.
“Beyond reporting our activities, we are also convinced that, as citizens, you should be part of the discussions for the overall improvement of our electoral process, based on your field observations,” he said.
He further said that INEC would like to hear concrete observations and suggestions on the processes and procedures for the accreditation of media organisations.
INEC, he said, would like to share the experiences of media workers on various issues, including access for journalists to voting and collation of results on election days, the conduct of pre-election activities by the commission, continuous voter registration, and voters’ access to polling units.
Yakubu cited other areas of interest for experience sharing, such as the deployment of logistics for the movement of personnel and materials, the recruitment and training of ad-hoc staff, the conduct of regular and ad-hoc officials during the election, and security issues during the election.
He said that the commission also needed to know the role of technology in voter accreditation and result management, as well as other suggestions that would improve the conduct of future elections.
The chairman said that apart from the review, INEC would also want to share ideas with media practitioners on the upcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.
