International Observers Laud Polls

Foreign Observers who monitored last Saturday’s Pres­idential and National Assembly elections have lauded the exer­cise.
The ECOWAS Observer Mis­sion (EOM) described it is ac­ceptable meeting the criteria of being free and transparent.
The declaration was made by the mission’s head and former President of Ghana, John Kuf­four, in Abuja.
Kuffour expressed satisfac­tion with the commitment made by the Independent Na­tional Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, secu­rity agencies and other stake­holders in the electoral process.
He observed that the turnout of voters was generally high with a laudable participation of women and young people who displayed commendable level of patience and discipline.
“Security agents were pres­ent at most of the polling sta­tions and on patrols in and around the cities as peaceful atmosphere prevailed in most parts of the country,’’ he said.
The mission also noted that INEC officials demonstrated good knowledge and compli­ance with voting procedures.
He also noted that agents of the major political parties, in­cluding All Progressives Con­gress, (APC) Labour Party and the People Democratic Party, (PDP) were in attendance in most polling units.
“The process of counting at the polling stations and the subsequent collations at des­ignated centres were success­ful and in accordance with the Electoral Act.
“Some of the challenges the mission observed during the exercise included the late ar­rival of INEC officials in many polling stations and malfunc­tioning of Card Readers across the country,’’ he said.
Kuffour further said the elections were still ongoing in some affected polling units were elections had been ex­tended by one day.
He said the mission also ob­served that there was insuffi­cient and/or non-availability of electoral materials in some polling units which led to de­lay in accreditation and voting processes.