2011 Nigeria National Elections
33
Appendix B: Second Pre-Election Assessment Mission, February 28 – March 3,
2011 (organized by IRI)
Nigerians Hopeful for Credible Elections in April Despite Continuing Challenges
March 3, 2011
Abuja, Nigeria
– The citizens of Nigeria will go to the polls in April, engaging in the largest
electoral exercise in Africa in 2011. The elections in Nigeria are critical to the future well-being of
this nation; but they are also of great importance to the continent of Africa and especially the sub-
region of West Africa.
The balloting will begin with the national assembly elections on April 2, followed by presidential and
vice presidential elections on April 9, and concluding with state level (governors and state assembly)
elections on April 16. To assess the legal and political environment prior to this exercise of the
franchise, IRI deployed an assessment mission to Nigeria from February 28 to March 3, 2011. Led
by His Excellency John Kufuor, former president of the Republic of Ghana (2001-2009), this
mission met with almost all major stakeholders involved in the 2011 election cycle.
The IRI delegation met with the Chairman and commissioners of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), members of the national assembly, the President of the Court of
Appeal, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), as well as presidential candidates, religious
leaders, representatives of political parties, civil society organizations, including women's activists,
the media, and international development partners.
The mission was assured by both the INEC and IGP that the government has provided adequate
funding to conduct the April elections.
The delegation noted with satisfaction the commitment by INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega, who, a
few days prior to the mission's arrival, made the following public statement, "The commission will
spare no effort on its promise that the elections will be free, fair and credible. We recognize that a
major step towards achieving that goal is to be transparent with our operations."
Chairman Jega reaffirmed this commitment in the meeting with the IRI delegation. In every one of
its meetings, the delegation heard praise for the INEC chairman. It is clear that the Nigerian people
have confidence in Chairman Jega's commitment to transparent, free and fair elections. Nigeria is
fortunate in having an INEC Chairman praised across the political spectrum. However it is also
critical that this confidence in the Chairman's integrity extends to the entire INEC structure. The
means for achieving this is for all INEC personnel to exercise the utmost professionalism and
impartiality in the fulfillment of their responsibilities. The delegation further noted a strong desire
from Nigerian stakeholders to raise the quality of their electoral processes and, equally of note, was
encouraged by the stakeholders' respective commitment to an improved process.
There are still some challenges to address with less than a month to go before the first of the series
of important elections in April 2011. The delegation offers the following observations and
recommendations:
