Nigeria recently held its 2023 presidential election and is set to hold its gubernatorial election on March 11.
Several bodies and parties have commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a job well done during the February 25 presidential election.
However, the United States government has asked INEC to address its technical “shortcomings”. It wants INEC to do this ahead of the governorship elections.
During the election there were technical issues with the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) used to identify and accredit voters.
After the election, the INEC portal for uploading of results also experienced some faults. This situation threatened the credibility of the elections.
New Dawn For Nigeria’s Democracy
The US congratulated Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, for his victory in the election.
According to the US, “this competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy.”
“Each of the top three candidates was the leading vote-getter in 12 states. This is a remarkable first in Nigeria’s modern political era, reflecting the diversity of views that characterised the campaign and the wishes of Nigeria’s voters,” the spokesperson of the US Department of State, Ned Price, said in a statement.
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The US government also aske presidential candidates who were not satisfied with the results to seek redress in court rather than resorting to violence.
“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted.
“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral processes.
“We join other international observers in urging INEC to improve in the areas that need the most attention ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial elections.
“There are well-established mechanisms in place for the adjudication of electoral disputes, and we encourage any candidate or any party seeking to challenge the outcome to pursue redress through those mechanisms.
“We call on all parties, candidates, and supporters to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” the US said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have rejected the results of the election. They have called for a fresh election.
Also, they plan to seek redress in court.
