2023 Elections: European Union Faults INEC, Says Process Distorted, Lacks Transparency

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria on Monday stated that the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in Nigeria were marred by lack of transparency on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The mission said INEC’s operational capacity was hampered by the ongoing fuel and Naira shortage and cited the abuse of incumbency advantage and a troubling electoral security environment as some of the factors that distorted the playing field for the candidates.

EU’s EOM Chief Observer, Barry Andrews who presented the aforesaid points in the mission’s preliminary statement at a press conference held in Abuja yesterday, stressed that on Saturday’s election day, the trust in INEC was seen to further reduce due to delayed polling processes and information gaps related to much-anticipated access to results on its Results Viewing Portal (IReV).