The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is willing to share various aspects of its electoral experience with the Ethopian Election management body, in nine technical sessions.
The sessions are the entire gamut of the election and electoral process from the formulation of planning tools such as the Strategic Plan (SP), Strategic Plan Implementation Programme (SPIP), the Election Project Plan (EPP) as well as the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC).
INEC’s Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, stated this when a delegation from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) visited the commission’s office in Abuja on a study tour.
The INEC Chairman also noted that the Commission would share experience with the Ethiopian Electoral body on issues of inclusivity in elections and the participation of persons displaced by conflict.
Other areas are stakeholder engagements, the role of technology in voter registration, the management of candidate nomination, the design and production of sensitive materials and voter education as well observer and media accreditation.
“For an extensive experience-sharing engagement of this nature, the Commission has invited some civil society organisations, the media and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to join specific technical sessions to exchange ideas with our visitors,” Yakubu noted.
“Beyond the technical sessions, the visit is also coming at a time when voter registration is ongoing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of the Area Council election in February next year. This will provide our visitors the opportunity for a real-life experience of voter registration in Nigeria,” he said.
He remarked that the Commission already share some similarities with the Ethiopian Election management body in some electoral processes including registration and regulation of political parties, monitoring of election expenses, constituency delimitation, creation of polling units, accreditation of observers and voters and conduct of national and regional elections.
The INEC Chairman also appreciated the office of the German agency for international development (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ) in Ethiopia for facilitating the important engagement.
He assured the officials from GIZ that their engagement with their colleagues from Ethiopia will be a worthwhile experience.
Earlier in his remarks, the leader of the delegation, and the deputy chairman of the Ethiopian Electoral Commission, Mr. Tesfaye Niwai noted that they were in the Commission to understudy the electoral processes in Nigeria, which will assist them in the conduct of more credible elections in their country.
Mr. Niwai commended the INEC Chairman and his team for offering the opportunity, which he believed would boost the credibility of elections in their country.