Brussels, 10/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - Threatened by Boko Haram, the general elections in Nigeria that were initially planned for February will be postponed until March and April, for security reasons. The EU is very disappointed by this. On Monday 9 February, the foreign ministers from the 28 EU member states underlined the importance of holding “peaceful, inclusive, transparent and credible” general elections without further delay as these elections serve as an example for the whole of Africa.
In its unanimous conclusions, the Council of the EU says it is “disappointed by the postponement of the elections on the basis of security advice delivered at very late notice”, by the independent national electoral commission (INEC). It therefore urges INEC to ensure “the elections take place without further delay and enable each eligible Nigerian citizen to cast their vote fairly, including those affected by the security situation in the north east of the country”, where the Boko Haram terrorist sect rules (see EUROPE 11249).
The EU stresses the importance that the elections in Nigeria hold for the whole continent as Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa. “The conduct and quality of this electoral process will be key for the future of Nigeria, the region and the continent”, the Council conclusions state.
The Council calls on all the political actors to respect the commitment they took, when signing the Abuja agreement on 14 January 2014, to prevent electoral violence. It also calls on the Nigerian security forces to fulfil their obligation to support the constitution and to maintain law and order during the electoral process.
The EU has mobilised €35 million to support this process and has deployed an electoral observation mission (EUEOM) led by Santiago Fisas Ayxela MEP (EPP, Spain) (see EUROPE 11236).
The presidential and parliamentary elections planned for 14 February are now scheduled for 28 March, and the elections of the governors and deputies of the federal states, which were due to take place on 28 February, have been deferred until 11 April. The countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) welcomed this postponement and called on “all the political actors to accept it in good faith”. (Aminata Niang)