From Victor Osula, Abuja
The United Nations has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s electoral process, stating that the country’s democratic success remains crucial to stability, democratic consolidation and sustainable progress across the African continent.
The assurance was given by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, during a visit by a United Nations delegation to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, where he emphasised the global significance of Nigeria’s elections.
Congratulating INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, on his appointment, Fall noted that the international community was closely watching Nigeria because of its demographic weight and influence within Africa’s democratic landscape.
“Your success will be our success. Democracy in Nigeria has evolved over the past 27 years as something defining to the history and trajectory of the country”, he said, adding that the UN family, comprising 26 agencies, was ready to deploy global expertise and best practices to support credible elections in Nigeria.
Fall stressed that elections should not be viewed merely as operational exercises, but as vital components of national development, guided by the United Nations’ “Leave No One Behind” principle, which promotes inclusive participation.
“We have been supporting young people to participate, we have been supporting women to participate, and we have been supporting Persons With Disabilities, because everything we do in the UN is founded on a principle of leaving no one behind”, he said.
Also speaking, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reaffirmed the organisation’s readiness to continue working closely with INEC at critical moments in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
She highlighted the long-standing partnership between the United Nations and INEC, which dates back to 1999, noting that the collaboration has contributed significantly to improvements in Nigeria’s electoral system, particularly through the introduction of technology and institutional reforms.
“The United Nations family has been part of INEC’s successes, especially the technological advancements and improvements in the country’s electoral process”, Attafuah said.
According to her, the partnership has supported voter education initiatives, institutional strengthening, gender inclusion programmes and the provision of technical capacity to enhance election management.
Attafuah added that the UN supports approximately 60 elections globally each year and intends to leverage its programmes on human rights, gender equality and parliamentary development to further assist Nigeria.
“Nigeria is providing great leadership through the Regional Partnership for Democracy. If Nigeria succeeds, Africa advances. We are happy to support you as you work on important milestones for this great country”, she said.
In his response, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, commended the renewed partnership and acknowledged the UN’s longstanding contributions to Nigeria’s democratic development. He identified public trust deficit, voter apathy and insecurity as major challenges confronting Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across Africa and called for sustained collaboration to address them.
Amupitan requested UN support in voter education to combat apathy, counter disinformation and strengthen the commission’s Gender and Inclusivity Department to better serve Persons With Disabilities through Braille materials and specialised assistive tools.
He further disclosed that the commission had commenced proactive measures to sanitise the national voters’ register by removing deceased persons and eliminating duplicate records.
“Our hope is that every election we conduct will be better than the last one”, the INEC chairman said.
