The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) have called for immediate electoral reforms to ensure free, fair, and credible polls in Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
During a meeting in Abuja, the EU delegation, led by Chief of Mission Barry Andrews, and the ADC leadership, led by National Chairman Senator David Mark and National Secretary Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, identified shortcomings in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
Both parties criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary for failing to safeguard the people’s mandate. The ADC accused INEC of betraying public trust by failing to transmit results in real-time via the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
To address these issues, the ADC proposed:
1. Reforming INEC’s leadership appointment process:
Instead of the President to solely appoint the INEC Chairman and National Commissioners, political parties with at least five National Assembly members should have the right to nominate officials.
2. Empowering the electorate in disputed cases:
The ADC argued that courts should not usurp the people’s right to choose their leaders. In disputed cases, the ultimate decision should revert to the electorate through a fresh democratic process.
The EU delegation included representatives from the EU Follow Mission, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and election experts. The ADC delegation included prominent party leaders.
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