By Akanimo Sampson
As Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country moves closer to her sixth quadrennial elections since 1999, the country’s democratic institutions are facing yet another defining moment as prospects for peaceful elections are currently not appearing bright.
This is a matter of serious concern for the International Republican Institute (IRI) a US group that has been working in Nigeria since 1998, providing capacity-building support to political parties, the government, and civil society, and has observed every general election since the country’s 1999 transition from military rule.
The group has also monitored more than 200 elections in more than 50 countries through international observation missions and assessments.
They conduct their monitoring work in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct adopted by the United Nations in 2005, earning herself an international reputation for impartiality and professionalism.
For the Institute that has John Tomaszewski as her Regional Director for Africa, the two major political parties – All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -are fractured and other political parties and actors are emerging.
According to IRI, ‘’the Presidential and National Assembly races will be closely watched and several gubernatorial and state assembly elections will be highly competitive, raising the prospect for localised violence.
‘’This highlights the need for the country’s security and electoral institutions to be engaged everywhere — not just in Abuja or major state capitals. In addition, a plethora of non- state actors, including the terrorist group Boko Haram, are continuing to spread insecurity in the country with the high potential of disrupting the electoral process.
‘’It is crucial, therefore, that Nigeria have credible elections in 2019 to curb the possibility of large-scale violence and the overall worsening security and human rights situation in the country.’’
Continuing, the group said the 2015 presidential elections were marked by a tense campaign period and a historic outcome in which incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
‘’This electoral outcome represented the first peaceful, democratic transition of power from ruling to opposition party in Nigeria’s history. Although the 2015 elections represented an important democratic milestone and ushered in a new era of optimism among Nigerians, major deficiencies remain within the country’s political system and democratic institutions. Additionally, the country’s security and human rights challenges continued to grow in complexity since 2015’’, IRI said.
For the Institute, ‘’Nigeria’s 2019 elections (Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 16 and Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections slated for March 2) will be yet another stress test for this young and developing democracy.
‘’If Nigeria can hold peaceful, credible and fair elections in 2019, the country will further consolidate recent democratic gains and continue to serve as a major democratic anchor for the West Africa region.
‘’On balance, if the elections lack credibility or are marred by violence, this will likely harm one of Africa’s largest economies, would mark the democratic decline of a major US ally on the continent, and reverse a recent trend of positive electoral and democratic developments in West Africa.’’
