Nigeria’s leading partner to democracy and good governance, the European Union is to launch a €39 million program to promote transparent, inclusive, and credible elections in the country.
This initiative is crucial as Nigeria draws closer to its election year.
A statement by Modestus Chukwulaka, Information officer to the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS reviewed that it has perfected plans to launch the program on Monday, September 12, thus re-affirming its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s electoral process for transparent, inclusive, and credible elections in the country.
According to him, ‘The program tagged EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Phase II, is a €39m initiative. funded under the EU’s Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument, over a five-year period.’
‘Giving insight into the overall objective of the program the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Ms. Samuela Isopi noted that the EU-SDGN is to foster a functioning pluralistic, inclusive, participatory, and representative democracy in Nigeria. Inclusive, participatory, and transparent elections are pre-requisite for a strong democracy.
“Ahead of the 2023 General Election, Nigeria is at a pivotal moment that allows the country to take important steps to consolidate democracy and strengthen the electoral process. The European Union continues to partner with Nigeria in the ongoing reform process with a view to strengthening the capacity to conduct well-managed elections and with ample participation of all Nigerians. For this to happen, all must contribute, from the key institutions to the political parties and candidates, from media to civil society,”
Adding that the project will be anchored in the priorities identified by the Nigerian government, building on the lessons learned from the implementation of phase I of the program (2017-2022), and the recommendations of the EU Election Observation Mission made after the 2019 General Election as well as those of the EU Election Follow-up Mission to Nigeria, thus focusing on six thematic areas of support:
‘Improve the quality of electoral administration in Nigeria
‘Strengthen capacities for legislative and judicial reform in compliance with democratic principles and standards
“Enhance Pluralism, internal democracy, and equality of opportunity in the political parties and the political party system
“Empower Media, including new media to promote fair and ethical coverage of the electoral process and combat hate speech and disinformation
“Enhance participation of women, youth, and other marginalized groups in the political process
“Empower civil society organizations and relevant agencies to demand greater transparency and accountability in the electoral and decision-making process, and promote greater citizens’ participation.” The statement ended.
