By Jennifer Lynne
As a participants in a multi-national civil society election observation team, I would first like to thank the participants of the 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections. It is a great challenge to (ensure) a fair, free, and safe election process in any nation, and we recognize the great efforts involved. It is with great care and in the interest of democracy we report the findings below and encourage the people of Nigeria to seek solutions devoid of violence.
During the polling process yesterday, we had the opportunity to travel around Rivers State observing many polling units, and in conjunction with additional support from our colleagues, receive feedback on the broader electoral process within Rivers State. As many have reported, we would confirm the difficulties of availability and security of results sheets. Ranging from distribution to collection, many stations were compromised due to the handling of these materials. In addition, as widely reported, we observed severe challenges due to dysfunctional card readers, causing lengthy delays, voter denial, and reporting irregularities. Further concerns include the tampering of election materials, questions of security concerns, and reports of misconduct by election officials and candidates. Areas affective include but are not limited to Omuma, Tai, Ahoada East, Ogu/Bolo, Bonny, and Khana. The documentation of these events would lead us to question the validity of the results with Rivers State. We will be making a full report available to the INEC as a part of the larger observation feedback provided by various organizations around Nigeria.
Again, we want to stress our support of the Nigeria electorate, people, and democratic process and encourage the leadership, government, and security forces to enforce the Peace Accords and allow for Nigeria to be recognized with the international standards of election procedures.
Jennifer Lynne
Founder and Executive Director
The Contact Project, USA
Volunteer Domestic Observer 2015 Elections
