2011 Nigeria National Elections
17
L
ONG
-T
ERM
O
BSERVERS
IRI's 12 long-term observers arrived in Nigeria on March 28, 2011, to attend briefings in Abuja, and
then deployed in two-person teams to six locations across Nigeria, split equally between the north
and the south. Again, IRI's teams observed the aborted national assembly elections on April 2, the
rescheduled national assembly elections on April 10, and the presidential election on April 16. IRI
staff were deployed to observe the gubernatorial and state assembly elections on April 26.
April 2 Election Observation
In the days before the April 2 parliamentary elections, the six IRI observation teams met with
gubernatorial and legislative candidates, police and security officials, journalists and media
organizations, INEC staff and civil society leaders. The teams observed that INEC seemed more
prepared for the elections than it had been in 2007 and there appeared to be less hostility and fear of
violence. Overall, the long-term observers first-hand impressions were that civil society groups and
government officials seemed to have more confidence in the process compared to 2007.
In the early morning hours of April 2, the teams travelled to polling stations across Nigeria to
observe the opening of polling stations, scheduled to commence at 8:00 a.m. The observers
reported that polling stations consistently opened late—often up to two hours late—which angered
some voters who had already been waiting the entire two hours to begin the accreditation process.
Despite this initial frustration, the accreditation ran smoothly once it was underway and most voters
had been accredited by noon at polling stations visited by the long-term observers. IRI observers
noted that media generally had free access to polling stations and reported fairly on the events they
encountered. Police were present, sometimes in large numbers. IRI's teams reported that the
security forces were doing their job by focusing on calming angry voters; there were no reports or
observations of security forces harassing voters or causing other types of electoral disturbances.
Teams frequently encountered other international and domestic observers documenting the
proceedings at the polling stations they visited. When INEC's decision to cancel the election was
received following Jega's noon announcement, voters became angry. However, despite voters'
visible discontent, the observers did not witness any violence. Voters focused on the announcement
that the elections would be rescheduled for the following week and tuned in to available media
sources for updates.
April 9 Election Observation
In the week between the cancelled April 2 elections and the April 9 elections, the IRI long-term
observers met with other observers, civil society groups, police officials, political party leaders and
business leaders in their assigned regions. Most supported the rescheduling of the elections, saying
that it would make peaceful elections more likely. The political parties and INEC reported generally
good relations with one another during this time. However, civil society groups mentioned in a few
instances that they were frustrated at the lack of communication and inclusion from INEC.
During the April 9 elections, observers noted that the police security presence was higher at polling
stations than the previous week. A bombing that occurred in western Nigeria on April 8 may have
accounted for the increased police presence. The increased security was not observed to result in
intimidation or brutality on the part of police personnel. Unlike April 2, voting went smoothly with
