The conduct of the 2023 elections in Nigeria has received criticism from international observers who scored the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) below average. The observers from the African Elections Monitoring and Support Project Implementation Network (AEMPIN) expressed disappointment with the slow deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials to over 50% of the 176,606 polling units in the country, despite INEC’s prior preparations.
During a press briefing on the findings of the over 2,000 election observers deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the Head of Observer Mission, Emenike Umesi, commended the high turnout of voters but bemoaned the relocation of polling units at the last minute, stating that it was done at the wrong time. He added that the relocation was a good idea to reduce crowd in polling units, but it caused confusion among voters.
Umesi also noted delays in opening some polling units due to the late arrival of materials and INEC officials, despite the enthusiasm of voters, who started arriving as early as 7 am. While he commended INEC’s decision to split existing polling units that exceeded the recommended number of registered voters, he noted that some voters could not quickly locate their new polling units either because they did not receive communication from INEC or they were simply unaware.
Logistics failure, a persistent challenge for INEC, was also identified as a significant problem during the election. This challenge caused the postponement of some elections to the next day, affected the collation and transmission of results, and caused delays and anxiety among voters. Although the observers commended using the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to eliminate electoral malpractice, there were still incidences of ballot box snatching and destruction.
Umesi called on INEC to consider people with disabilities when selecting polling unit locations and recommended that INEC make deliberate efforts to improve its logistics for future elections. He also suggested that the Federal Government adopt e-voting or i-voting to reduce electioneering challenges of ballot snatching and mutilation of result sheets.
