The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun implementing several key recommendations from stakeholders following the 2023 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the announcement during the inaugural visit of the new European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, to the commission on Tuesday in Abuja.
Yakubu explained that the commission had already started revising critical planning tools, such as its Strategic Plan and Election Project Plan, in preparation for future elections. He further revealed that since the 2023 general elections, INEC had received feedback from a variety of sources, including 206 national and foreign groups, as well as international organizations accredited to observe the elections.
Among the feedback received, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) and other stakeholders issued 23 recommendations, eight of which require action from INEC. These recommendations cover key areas such as the dissemination of electoral regulations and guidelines, training of election staff, and deployment of electoral technology. Other areas of focus include improving the result management process, continuous voter registration, cleaning the voters’ register, enhancing the participation of marginalized groups, and facilitating voting for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Yakubu also noted that 15 of the recommendations involved actions from the executive, judiciary, legislature, and other key stakeholders, including civil society organizations, the media, faith-based groups, and political parties.
The commission has conducted a comprehensive internal and external review of the 2023 elections, producing a detailed 524-page report and a supplementary 74-page review report with 142 recommendations. Both documents have been made available on INEC’s website for public access.
Yakubu highlighted that several administrative actions from the review have already been implemented, such as improvements in the training of ad hoc staff during off-cycle, re-run, and bye-elections. The commission has also deployed an increased number of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to enhance the accreditation process, with notable improvements in the functionality of the machines, which now support both fingerprint and facial recognition for voter authentication.
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