The European Observation Mission to Nigeria has been launched in Abuja ahead of the forthcoming general elections in a bid to monitor security of election observers especially in the North-Eastern part of the country.
Briefing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday on the preparedness to observe the February 16 and the March 2 elections, the Chief Observer and a member of the European Parliament from Belgium, Maria Arena emphasized that security of the observers matters to the mission.
She however stated that EU Observation Mission has taken account of the security situation in the North East and would be working with the Nigerian authorities to guarantee the safety of the observers in the north east.
Arena said: “When you talk about the security of the observers, it’s something that matters. We work with the Nigerian authorities to guarantee the security of the observers in the north east. So of course, it’s something that we have to take into account in the country to guarantee the security for these observers.
Arena said the Observer Mission made up of 20 teams, with 40 long term observers, would be going round the country to observe what she called the practicals and the theories of the elections as well as see whether there would be improvements from the 2015 general elections.
“Our team will be looking at the improvements made with the last election. We have 20 teams, long term observers who will be going round the country. So we need to see what is happening in practice and what is happening in theory.
She underscored the participation of people living with disabilities in the elections: “The participation of those with disability is something that is important to the EU and to us as observers particularly, with the commitment to the rights of those with disability.
“So we look specifically with what INEC and others are doing to make it possible for easy participation of people with the range of disability. We had a recommendation on this in 2015 and we will be following up this time.”
On the outbreak of violence during elections, The EU chief Observer said “I hope that all state authorities and all stakeholders will demonstrate their commitment to democratic process in order to prevent violence and conduct the election with full integrity. I think it’s really something important and to call for in the country. It’s a message we want to pass today also.”
Speaking about the mission in other parts of the world, Arena said: “The Our observations are not only in Nigeria but we have a lot of observation mission in Africa, in Asia, in Latin America because we have values and we want to share these values.
“We are invited by the Nigerian authorities, so we are really proud to be invited to Nigeria authorities for the 6th time. It is also because Nigerian authority think they can share these values with us.
“They also have the same values and we are working on these values together. I must say perhaps that it could be interesting also for European countries to take a bit of these values on their own countries because we have some countries in Europe that are losing these democratic values.
Apart from observing the traditional media, the Chief Observer also stated that for the first time, the team will also observe and analyse the social media.
“I will also say that we are observing, for the first time, the social media because we know that you have part of the population that are keen on having information in the social media. So it is important for us to analyse the way the social media are used in some cases in the country.”
She noted International observers wants to see elections as the will of the people stating that the “Observation Mission is not here to interfere in the Nigerian process of elections.
“We are here to observe and we observe how election process is going to improve Nigerian law , Nigeria’s international commitments.
“This is really important to understand that we are not here to interfere. It is Nigerians elections, this elections are for Nigerian people and they are managed by Nigerian institutions. What we do is to observe how this is managed with the law of Nigeria and we give recommendations on this.
“I want to assure that we are not here to pronounce free and fair. They are two simple words, it’s more complex situation when we observe the election. When we say free and fair, we as observers have to observe the legal framework, we have to observe the freedom of speech, we have to observe the freedom of the civil society expressing themselves, we have to observe a lot of things to improve the process.
“So it is not just something you have for one day or it is something that you keep for eternity. Democracy is something that you have to fight for and it is why we are here. It is why we decided that Nigeria is a place of priority.
Also speaking Deputy Chief Observer, Hannah Roberts said: “the EU has observed all elections here since 1999. I think that shows the commitment that the EU has to its relationship with Nigeria in supporting the democratic process.”
Roberts states that the Observer team would be looking, “particularly to see that not just what the state authorities will be doing but also what other actors-the parties, candidates etcetera, will be doing to play their role to conduct this election with integrity and also how the will encourage or respond to any problems that may arise.”
The Deputy Chief Observer said all election observation reports were online in the previous mission noting that the conclusions as were different as elections change from time to time.
Robert stated that her team would be looking for what is different in the coming election, adding that they compare each election with the national legislation and to the international commitment that Nigeria has made.
