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April 2011 Elections: Verdict of Int’l Observers
- By Williams Ekanem
- Published May 16th, 2011
- Washington File
- Unrated
BUOYED by growing interest of the April 2011 general elections in Nigeria, a litany of international observers from the United States where on ground to monitor various elections conducted.
At the last count, not less than twelve bodies, groups independently monitored the elections in Nigeria and have been variously giving their assessment of the elections.
The National Democratic Institute NDI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world for more than two decades says Nigeria’s just-completed presidential and National Assembly elections “represent a step forward from seriously flawed elections of the past” and “hold the promise of setting a new standard for integrity in Nigeria’s electoral process.”
Noting the commitment and dedication of Nigerian voters who faced long lines and high temperatures to cast their presidential ballots on April 16, NDI said the polls appear to mark a turning point for Africa’s most populous country.
But the Institute also cited a number of important problems that need to be addressed
The leaders of NDI’s observation mission to the presidential election were Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada; Mahamane Ousmane, former president of Niger and former president of the ECOWAS Parliament; Robin Carnahan, secretary of state of Missouri (USA); and Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa.
They headed a delegation of 30 observers from 14 countries who were deployed in all six of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to observe the presidential voting. NDI fielded a larger observation mission for National Assembly elections on April 9. That delegation issued a preliminary statement April 11 that said those polls provided a real opportunity for citizens to exercise their right to vote while pointing out substantial problems.
Professor Gwendolyn Mikell of Anthropology and Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington D.C said that people were determined to see their votes count in the just concluded elections.
Mikell, who monitored the elections in Kano pointed out that the turnout of women countered the stereotype that women in the northern part of the country don’t exercise their voting right.
Commenting on the post election violence, the anthropology professor said that it could not have been surprising due to comments by people there even before the Presidential elections that “ they will not accept another stolen mandate and are ready to oppose the results through any means.”
She listed financial advantage of incumbents as a very big challenge to Nigerian elections.
In his comments, Mr. Eric Guttschuss, a Nigerian researcher at Human Rights Watch pointed at irregularities in Akwa Ibom State, pointing out that he witnessed ballot box snatching at gun point, no election in about three places although results were eventually announced. He however expressed happiness that INEC cancelled the results in all these areas.
Classifying the April 2011 elections as the most violent in the nation’s election history with over 500 deaths, he regretted that so far no one has ever been penalized for electoral offence in the country, a situation that creates a kind of impunity to perpetrators.
At the last count, not less than twelve bodies, groups independently monitored the elections in Nigeria and have been variously giving their assessment of the elections.
The National Democratic Institute NDI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world for more than two decades says Nigeria’s just-completed presidential and National Assembly elections “represent a step forward from seriously flawed elections of the past” and “hold the promise of setting a new standard for integrity in Nigeria’s electoral process.”
Noting the commitment and dedication of Nigerian voters who faced long lines and high temperatures to cast their presidential ballots on April 16, NDI said the polls appear to mark a turning point for Africa’s most populous country.
But the Institute also cited a number of important problems that need to be addressed
The leaders of NDI’s observation mission to the presidential election were Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada; Mahamane Ousmane, former president of Niger and former president of the ECOWAS Parliament; Robin Carnahan, secretary of state of Missouri (USA); and Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa.
They headed a delegation of 30 observers from 14 countries who were deployed in all six of Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to observe the presidential voting. NDI fielded a larger observation mission for National Assembly elections on April 9. That delegation issued a preliminary statement April 11 that said those polls provided a real opportunity for citizens to exercise their right to vote while pointing out substantial problems.
Professor Gwendolyn Mikell of Anthropology and Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington D.C said that people were determined to see their votes count in the just concluded elections.
Mikell, who monitored the elections in Kano pointed out that the turnout of women countered the stereotype that women in the northern part of the country don’t exercise their voting right.
Commenting on the post election violence, the anthropology professor said that it could not have been surprising due to comments by people there even before the Presidential elections that “ they will not accept another stolen mandate and are ready to oppose the results through any means.”
She listed financial advantage of incumbents as a very big challenge to Nigerian elections.
In his comments, Mr. Eric Guttschuss, a Nigerian researcher at Human Rights Watch pointed at irregularities in Akwa Ibom State, pointing out that he witnessed ballot box snatching at gun point, no election in about three places although results were eventually announced. He however expressed happiness that INEC cancelled the results in all these areas.
Classifying the April 2011 elections as the most violent in the nation’s election history with over 500 deaths, he regretted that so far no one has ever been penalized for electoral offence in the country, a situation that creates a kind of impunity to perpetrators.
