Earlier in the year, the COFP Foundation got the privilege of being accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe and monitor Nigeria’s 2023 general elections. The first of the exercise was the Presidential and National Assembly elections which took place on Saturday, 25th February 2023. The second and final lap was the Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections which held on Saturday 18th March, 2023. The COFP carried out this major assignment of monitoring the 2023 general elections, keeping its major goals in the forefront, namely, driving social change, conflict resolution, promoting good governance, and enhancing the culture of peace among adherents of different faiths and culture.
The short-term observation mission deployed by the COFP Foundation for the Presidential elections listed 84 Peace Fellows who served as observers across 30 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory. The same number of Peace Fellows were also listed to observe the Gubernatorial elections in 30 states of Nigeria, excluding the FCT. After undergoing a thorough training program on election monitoring and observation, the observation team carried out its mandate in all areas of the electoral process following international standards and commitments for democratic elections and the already binding laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
During the election monitoring by our organization, we observed that the presidential and gubernatorial elections were faced with diverse challenges at the various polling units such as late arrival of coordinating officials, malfunctioning of the BVAS machines, inability to transmit presidential election results electronical from polling units to INEC Irev, the intimidation of voters, vote buying, disenfranchisement and the likes. These challenges did not stop the election process in the polling units observed by the COFP team but mar the process. Based on our observations, our team came up with recommendations for consideration by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as remedies for the reduction of voter disenfranchisement, to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy and amplify the voices of Nigerian citizens. Below are only a few recommendations from those already listed on the comprehensive election report. You can visit our website to read in full https://cofpfoundation.org/resources/
Although the election process was not without its unique challenges, we must commend the efforts and commitment of all agents, officers, and voters alike for coming out to exercise their right to vote for their preferred candidate. The general conduct of voters was impressive to say the least and how most groups were able to show composure in the face of challenges is simply exceptional.