The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought and TAP Initiative for Citizens’ Development have launched a nationwide electoral monitoring programme to advertise transparency and public confidence forward of the 2027 normal elections.
The initiative, tagged “i-Report-INEC”, will practice civil society organisations (CSOs), political events and their brokers, media practitioners and assist teams to watch elections and report incidents in actual time.
The Director of the Abuja School, Dr Sam Amadi, and the Executive Director of TAP Initiative, Mr Martin Obono, introduced the programme at a information convention in Abuja on Tuesday.
Amadi mentioned the initiative was designed to strengthen electoral integrity, notably because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to deploy superior expertise, together with synthetic intelligence, in the course of the 2027 polls.
He mentioned declining public confidence in electoral administration might undermine democratic governance, citing setbacks in components of West Africa.
“The best way to protect an election is to assume that elections will not be free and fair, and to work to make them free and fair,” Amadi mentioned.
He added that the initiative was targeted on strengthening the electoral course of reasonably than figuring out who wins an election.
“Our concern is to get the electoral system right, not just about who wins. For us, ensuring that the 2027 election ends with a vote of confidence in the electoral system is the ultimate focus,” he mentioned.
Amadi disclosed that coaching classes had been accomplished in Plateau and Niger states, with plans to increase the train to 12 states throughout the six geopolitical zones.
He mentioned every session would contain about 40 members drawn from civil society organisations, the media, political events and assist teams.
The deliberate places embody Enugu and Owerri within the South-East, Port Harcourt and Benin within the South-South, and Lagos and Osun within the South-West.
“After completing the capacity building in these 12 states, we will review the exercise,” he mentioned.
Amadi defined that the programme was not supposed to confront INEC however shaped a part of the Abuja School’s Deepening Democracy Series, launched in 2022 to strengthen democratic governance.
“The idea is that we should not give up on electoral democracy. If we must sustain development and democracy, we have to invest more in the quality of elections, ensuring they are free and fair,” he mentioned.
He additionally expressed concern over INEC’s failure to show the nationwide voter register on Monday, as required by regulation, and urged political events to interact authorized practitioners with a sound understanding of the electoral system.
According to him, authorized illustration ought to prolong past election petitions and court docket instances to constructive engagement with INEC on its statutory duties.
“The whole idea of legal representation for parties is not just after votes or going to court. It is about using lawyers who understand the electoral system to engage INEC transparently based on its statutory mandate,” he mentioned.
Digital Platform To Track Results, Incidents
Explaining the position of the i-Report-INEC software, Obono mentioned it could allow residents, occasion brokers and election observers to add polling-unit outcomes and report incidents as they happen.
He mentioned the platform would enhance public entry to election data and supply a method of monitoring the electoral course of.
“The outcome of an election is not as important as the credibility of the process. This partnership creates a mirror for the entire election management process, especially regarding results,” Obono mentioned.
He clarified that the applying wouldn’t declare election winners however would make Form EC8A outcomes already introduced at polling items accessible to the general public.
“We are not declaring winners; we are making results already announced at polling units accessible to the entire world to see,” he mentioned.
Obono cited earlier deployments of the platform throughout off-cycle elections in Osun State, the place it supplied real-time information and incident monitoring amid delays within the transmission of outcomes on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He urged Nigerians planning to take part within the 2027 elections to obtain the applying and familiarise themselves with its options earlier than the polls.
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