Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
Prof Attahiru Jega, has declared that the fair, credible and peaceful
conduct of the 2015 general elections has proved doomsday predictors, in
some international media organisations, wrong.
Jega regretted that some international media organisations had
suggested that the outcome of the recently concluded 2015 general
elections may lead to the end of the country.
The INEC chairman made the declaration yesterday when he received a
delegation led by the Ambassador of Mexico in Nigeria, Marco Antonio
Garcia Blanco, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja
He said “We are indeed very happy that our elections turned out to be
well and to have been recognised both nationally and internationally as
free, fair, credible and also peaceful. Leading to the election, some
impressions had been created, particularly in the international media as
if this may be the end of our country. Thank God it was doomsday
prediction which turned out to be false”.
Professor Jega, who was delighted by the offer to share experiences
with the other countries, explained that though the 2015 elections, were
not perfect, they were much better than that of 2011 and admitted that
there was room for improvement.
The INEC chairman said: “We know that the election has not been
perfect; we know that it was better than 2011; but there is also a lot
of scope for improvement and that is why we welcome every opportunity to
visit other countries and to see how they do their own elections and to
be able to exchange ideas and to also learn good practices which we can
continue to adapt to our own circumstances for continuous improvement
of our own electoral process”.
He appreciated the efforts of the Mexican High Commission in the
signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between both countries in
sharing electoral experiences and urged that such bilateral relationship
should be extended to other sectors.
“You facilitated the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding which
has been very useful, many of our staff have benefited by participation
in some conferences. All these experiences have been useful and
beneficial and we cherish the opportunity,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Ambassador Marco Antonio Garcia Blanco had
said his mission to the Commission was to “transmit congratulatory
message for a great job that the Commission did in the last electoral
process.”
He said everybody recognised the key role played by the Commission in the successes achieved in the last electoral process.
He called on the leadership of INEC to share experience with his
country which he said is very important in improving the electoral
process in Mexico.
He said, “Your expertise knowledge and wisdom will be a great asset
to our electoral body, with experience sharing, Mexico will benefit a
lot”.
He advocated for continuous strengthening of existing bi-lateral relationship between both countries.
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