The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the general election in 2023.
INEC stated that it intends to absorb useful lessons from the previous elections and plan a clear route forward for future elections.
The declaration came following INEC’s normal weekly meeting on Thursday, during which the Commission pledged to continue its history of undertaking extensive analyses of the election process to highlight areas of success and areas for development.
INEC’s National Commissioner for Voter Education, Festus Okoye, stated that the evaluation will look at all areas of the election, including logistics, technology, voter education, security, and general administrative operations.
“The review will involve the Commission’s officials at National and State levels as well as stakeholders with a view to learning lessons and charting the way forward.
“The review will commence with a meeting of the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on 4th July 2023 and end with the Commission’s retreat on 5th August 2023.
“At State level, the internal review will involve the Commission’s regular and ad hoc staff, including RECs, the 774 Electoral Officers, Heads of Departments, Administrative Secretaries as well as some Presiding Officers and Collation/Returning Officers,” said Okoye.
He added, “The external engagement will involve critical stakeholders such as political parties, security agencies, election observers, the media and service providers such as transporters that facilitated the movement of personnel and materials for the election.
“The review will focus on all aspects of the electoral activities before, during and after the elections. Specifically, the Commission welcomes actionable recommendations from stakeholders towards strengthening institutional capacity for the discharge of its responsibilities and the enhancement of processes and procedures.
“Detailed schedule of activities and timelines will be released immediately after the meeting with RECs on 4th July 2023.”
