Thread by @Naijavote

The EU report (88 pages) on Nigeria’s general elections was released June 15 2019 Conclusion: systemic failings, severe operational & transparency shortcomings, electoral security problems show the need for fundamental #ElectoralReform
bit.ly/2XeqzrW

#ElectoralReform 30 recommendations w/7 priority areas

Priority areas
1. INEC must improve logistics, operations, planning & tracking
2. Result sheets & SCR were not packed in tamper-evident envelopes as required - Amend EA /INEC procedures for transparent collation process

Priority areas #3:

Collation is marred by inconsistent numbers & lack of transparency - Amend EA for full results transparency I.e., results sheets scanned & published by the time final results are announced

Priority area #4

Amend radio broadcasting license requirements (depoliticize process) to provide pluralism & diversity across the country - 5 states have no commercial radio stations

Priority area #5

To deal with security agency violence & disruption to elections (& collation in 2019) make public all security arrangements, rules of engagement & complaints mechanism
#ElectoralReform

Priority area #6

Amend Constitution & EA to allow electoral tribunals to cover pre-election cases to reduce conflicting overlapping court cases & rulings

#ElectoralReform

Priority area #7

Pending independent candidacy, amend EA to introduce a legal requirement for political parties to have a minimum representation of women among candidates + sanctions for non-compliance

#ElectoralReform

Other 23 recommendations for #ElectoralReform

1. Amend EA for clarity on when & how votes are cancelled (1,289,607 votes cancelled for presidential elections) - INEC included as grounds for cancellation of PU non-use of smart card readers contrary to EA

2. NASS & INEC should ensure we have 1 EA that captures ALL the amendments in 1 document - currently near impossible to find this
3. Publish full, public transparency of rules, procedures, guidelines on elections on INEC’s website

4. INEC must improve strategic communication & meet more frequently with stakeholders
5. INEC must improve training for election management; it is insufficient, not timely & not extensive - esp. counting, collation & use of SCR

6. Create more PUs conducive to secret ballots to reduce disenfranchisement caused by ballot destruction & vote cancelling 2.7M voters affected by cancelled PU results

7. Use of SCR still open to abuse. INEC must make public information from SCR e.g., No. of voters accredited at the time it announces results & post information on website

#ElectoralReform

8. Last time Nigeria delimited its constituencies was 1996 based on 1991 census. Amend Constitution & EA to allow for transparent & fair delimitation of constituencies

#ElectoralReform

9. Voter register maintenance & update must be improved - right now it is hard to remove duplicates across states & deceased & difficult to transfer registration

#ElectoralReform

10. PVC collection must be improved w/ more local collection points & clear procedure for collection using biometric identification (to end community/ big man collection)
11. Amend EA to improve primaries & the integrity of political parties as talent pipeline for elected office

12. Strengthen INEC’s ability to track campaign finance & prosecute defaulters of the law
13. Amend EA to cap political parties campaign spend & contributions & to provide reporting obligations on campaign finance for individual candidates

#ElectoralReform

14. Amend EA to strengthen campaign finance disclosure by requiring media, advertising & social media platforms to disclose what they earn from politicians & political parties

15. Make FRCN & NTA independent of President & Min of Information by replacing current laws with new ones 😀report actually said ‘transform them into genuine public service broadcasters’.
16. Amend NBC Act to transform NBC into a ‘genuinely independent media regulatory body

17. Amend Cyber Crimes Act & Official Secrets Act - it unduly restricts freedom of media which is necessary for democracy eg. the bullying of Daily Trust in Jan 2019 is why Snr editors say they did not scrutinize the role of the security agencies in elections

#ElectoralReform

18. Adopt data protection laws to protect & guarantee citizens right to privacy - the data INEC & NCC holds is in danger of being abused
19. Reduce 180 days allowed for pre-election cases by reducing levels of appeal allowed - right now pre-election cases go all the way to SC

20. End impunity in election offenses with a national election offenses commission (strongly disagree!)
21. Amend EA to protect citizen observers & protect access of registered election observers to all aspects of election process (esp. collation!)
#ElectoralReform

22. To deal with disenfranchisement of IDPs INEC must publish framework for IDP voting BEFORE any voter registration exercise begins

23. Only 6 of 20k candidates were people living with disabilities in 2019 - amend EA to force parties to adopt policies on political participation of persons w/ disabilities including access to PUs & information in accessible formats

It is not encouraging for electoral reforms in Nigeria that the Presidency said
"We believe that the commission conducted a good election and will continue to improve on its processes and procedures."

We need more Nigerians to raise their voices about extensive #ElectoralReform