The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again reaffirmed its concern for the delay in the review of the National Assembly of the existing Electoral Law.
The president of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, expressed the apprehension of the electoral referee on Thursday when he received the head of the European Union monitoring mission, directed by Mr. Barry Andrews.
Professor Yakubu said the uncertainty about the legal framework for the next general elections is a great tax for INEC.
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He also told the EU team that some of his recommendations to improve the electoral process in the country rest largely in the legislative intervention of the National Assembly.
He said: “As you know, an election is a process governed by the Law. Many of its recommendations require the review of our electoral laws. For this reason, the Commission had interacted with our National Assembly, including a retirement with the Joint Committee of Electoral Affairs (Senate and the House of Representatives).
“We appeal to the National Assembly for an expedited consideration of the proposal for electoral reform. An early approval of the law is fundamental for our planning for elections. Uncertainty about the legal framework for elections can harm the work of the Commission as the elections approaches.”
The president of INEC, who praised the EU for his commitment to his commission aimed at promoting the integrity of the electoral process, declared that his commission would be willing to maintain collaboration.
“We look forward to the next EU EU for the 2027 general elections. As you know, international election observation missions are implemented in the commission’s invitation. I want to assure you that we will continue interacting with you.
“Very soon, the Commission will send invitations to the EU, as well as the Commonwealth, the African Union and the CEENAS for the general elections of 2027. We believe that the recommendations derived from its observation of our choice and the electoral process help improve the quality of our elections and electoral activities.”
In his comments, the main observer of the Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union, Barry Andrews, who, by the way, is a member of the European Parliament, said that the focus of his team is to verify the response to the recommendations of the EU team that monitored the last general elections.
Andrews, who revealed that his team has existed in the last three weeks, applauded INEC’s true commitment to the recommendations that would add value to the electoral process in Nigeria.
He said: “What we are here to do is analyze the recommendations that flowed from the general mission, which were contained in the final report of the mission in 2023, and we are very happy to see that there has been a very significant progress against these recommendations. We recognize that there are certain time restrictions, both in terms of judicial reform as an administrative reform and, of course, a reform Constitution … Reform Constitution …
“Inec has obviously carried out its own review of the 2023 elections, and we hope to hear what you have to inform about the recommendations and monitoring and implementation of these recommendations since 2023.
“There are specific areas that require legislative actions that I have referred to in my initial comments, and we would be delighted as a team to know about what progress has been made and what concerns about obstacles in the future, and particularly around a constitutional change, which is obviously a bit more difficult.”
Other members of the visiting delegation were Mr. Gautier Mignot, EU ambassador to Nigeria and Ecowas; Mr. Ralph-Michael Peters, election expert and team leader; Mrs. Eirini-Maria Gounari, legal electoral expert.
Others were Mr. Maros Gabriel, an expert in electoral administration, and Mrs. Laolu Olawumi, Program Manager, Democracy and Rule of Law, EU delegation.
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