A Nigerian election monitoring group has said that the off-cycle elections held in three states on November 11 were marred by abuses of power and insecurity.
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) said that the governing parties in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states abused their incumbency by using state resources and deploying security forces to intimidate their opponents.
The group also said that there were incidents of vote-buying and violence in all three states.
The CDD called for reforms to Nigeria’s political parties and electoral system, saying that the current system is “a major cog in the conduct of free and fair elections in the country.”
The elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi were held to fill vacant governorship positions. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won all three elections.
The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the results of the elections, saying that they were rigged.
The CDD’s report on the elections is likely to fuel the debate about the state of democracy in Nigeria. The country is due to hold general elections in 2027.
Here are some of the key findings of the CDD report:
- The ruling parties in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states abused their incumbency by using state resources and deploying security forces to intimidate their opponents.
- There were incidents of vote-buying and violence in all three states.
- The CDD called for reforms to Nigeria’s political parties and electoral system, saying that the current system is “a major cog in the conduct of free and fair elections in the country.”
The CDD’s report is a timely reminder of the challenges facing Nigeria’s democracy. The country is due to hold general elections in 2027, and it is important that all stakeholders work to ensure that the elections are free and fair.
