The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has accredited all two hundred and twenty-nine domestic and international groups deploying one hundred and forty-six thousand nine hundred and thirteen observers for the 2023 General Election.
Correspondent, Ekwi Ajide reports that speaking at a briefing for the accredited observers, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, called on them not to interfere with the electoral process or show partisanship come Saturday, twenty-fifth February.
He specifically charged the international observers to be guided by the fact that the election is conducted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose sovereignty must be respected.
Professor Yakubu, who urged the election observers to keep to the rules, as all accredited observers are guests of INEC.
According to the INEC Chairman, this is the largest deployment of domestic and international observers in the history of elections in Nigeria.
In a goodwill message, the Africa Regional Director of the International Foundation for Electoral System, IFES, Clara Cole, noted that the mission of the foundation is to advance good governance and democratic rights through providing technical assistance to their partners in administering credible election, advocating for change, empowering the underrepresented to participate in the political process, and applying data-driven research to improve the quality and integrity of election.
She emphasized that IFES would always applaud INEC for recognizing the important role observers play in strengthening the electoral process.
The Africa Regional Director of IFES commended all election observers who came from different parts of the world for the Saturday’s election for their willingness to be part of the exercise, saying that their participation highlights their enthusiasm to see improvement in Nigeria’s electoral process, and urged them to adhere strictly to the guidelines provided by INEC.
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