Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-23-Speech-3-285"
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"en.20070523.21.3-285"2
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"Madam President, as we have just heard, Nigeria has recently held important elections that will determine the transfer of power from one civilian president to another. On the invitation of the Nigerian authorities, the Commission fielded a large independent election observation mission (EOM), which performed well and cooperated closely with other international and domestic observer groups. I appointed Mr van den Berg – who had also observed the elections in 2003 – chief observer for those elections, and he will shortly give us his report.
The mission concluded that the 2007 state and federal elections fell short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections, pointing out that they were marred by poor organisation – as has already been cited, a lack of essential transparency and safeguards, widespread irregularities, significant evidence of fraud and disenfranchisement of voters. Sadly, at least 200 deaths from election-related violence were also reported. Other international observers – including those fielded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the US National Democratic Institute, led by Madeleine Albright – were also very critical, as were domestic observation groups.
The EU Presidency expressed disappointment at these elections not having marked progress in relation to 2003, which has now been reiterated by our president, at the irregularities and at the high toll of victims. The reactions and the messages from the international community had been consistent in urging Nigerians who have complaints about the process to use the legal provisions outlined in the Constitution and in the Electoral Act, commending the independence shown by the judiciary and the engagement of civil society and praising the commitment of poll workers and voters.
Disappointment at this missed opportunity is widespread in the international community, as Nigeria – one of the major powers in Africa – could have set an example of successful consolidation of the democratic process, which would have had a tremendous positive impact on the African continent. This is even more regrettable as the elections were held in an improved atmosphere in which the freedoms of assembly and expression were at least broadly respected.
The elections have highlighted the many problems and shortcomings of the Nigerian democratic process, and the Commission is aware that many challenges and misgivings need now to be addressed and overcome. In the short term, pressure should be placed on Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission to publish a complete breakdown of the polling station results, which is a basic requirement of transparency, and the judiciary should also be encouraged to act swiftly and responsibly with the election petitions. If redress is not provided, this could have serious implications for the future.
While the lessons learned will have to be taken into account in our future relations with Nigeria, entrenching positions should be avoided. I think the political dialogue has to restart, but future relations will have to include a deeper engagement at federal, state and Community level with a wider range of players in civil society and government. The topic of the elections must be a key feature of the political dialogue with Nigeria, based on the recommendations of the EOM. Our readiness to engage Nigeria in a political dialogue and the commitment to promote the strengthening of governments and democracy in the country, particularly together with ECOWAS, is highlighted in the joint EU-ECOWAS communiqué issued on 24 April at the 11th EU-ECOWAS ministerial meeting.
While the main instrument for political dialogue will remain Articles 8 and 9 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, the programming of the development cooperation to be financed by the 10th European Development Fund will also provide a crucial avenue for dialogue and the opportunity to take into account lessons learnt from the elections and the outcome of the discussions with the new Government, civil society and other key players."@en1
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