As Nigerians head to the polls on Saturday, the European Union Election Observation Mission in Nigeria, yesterday, said the international community is interested in seeing peaceful, fair and credible elections, devoid of violence and irregularities.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to Vanguard’s Corporate Head Office, in Lagos, EU’s Chief Observer to Nigeria, Mr. Barry Andrews, disclosed that more than 100 observers have been deployed to monitor and observe the elections, adding that a preliminary report will be submitted after the polls.
His words: “We have a clear message. We want peaceful elections and I think that is something that everybody shares. We have spoken to political participants, we have met with the judiciary, we have met with the civil societies and we have met with EU delegations and we got advice from them. We also have other observers like ECOWAS, the Commonwealth of Nations and American delegations.
“All of us are pulling towards one thing and that is peaceful elections. It is not controversial but it is really important because that is part of the evolution of Nigeria’s democracy and if we play a role in that, then we will be proud of it. That will be the key message.”
On its preparations for the polls, he said: “We have more than 100 observers deployed to monitor and observe the elections and they will continue to send information from the polling units throughout the country. They will also observe the use of BVAS and the chain of results being passed from the ward area during the election.
“We are observing everything we can within the limits of the vast scale of this election and the number of observers we have.
On Monday after the elections, we will publish a preliminary statement of about 12 pages of our initial observation of the election. The criteria will be tested by the international criteria that Nigeria has signed up to the international conventions and the standards that Nigeria itself set through the Electoral Act. We will judge it based on inclusivity, transparency and credibility.
“Then, three months after the elections, we will release a final report and make recommendations.”
