A team of EU Election Observation Mission for Nigeria 2023, consisting of Media Analyst, Inta Lasse and Social Media Analyst, Merek Mracka, gave the assurance, yesterday, during a visit to the Abuja office of The Guardian to ascertain the media’s readiness for the exercise, especially as it relates to coverage.
Lasse explained that the observation mission was invited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor the upcoming polls.
“Our major task is to assess the various electoral processes, Nigerian laws and regional commitment to the election,” she told the Abuja Bureau Chief, Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Deputy Bureau Chief, Azimazi Momoh Jimoh and Assistant Politics Editor, Leo Sobechi, who received the team on behalf of the Managing Director, Martins Oloja.
Lasse observed that the mission would be joined by seven members of the European Parliament to observe the elections and present preliminary report on their findings, which she said, would give a brief assessment of the electoral process.
She stated: “We will be here till the electoral processes are concluded. There will be a final report that would be presented by our chief observer. That final report will include more detailed analyses of the processes, as well as recommendations for future elections.
“We know there are no perfect elections anywhere, including in our various countries. There is always room for improvement. It is good to hear from you as the media, because we as EU, will like to see some useable, implementable recommendations from media monitors.”
Lase commended the newspaper for enjoying the confidence of a wide readership online and offline.
Also speaking, Mracka clarified that as part of its mandate, the mission would look into the role being played by social media, including the influence of false news by political parties to advertise themselves.
“We want to feel the pulse of the media concerning election campaigns so far. We want to see if there are good practices and to assess INEC’s performance on providing transparency and enough information to the public,” he remarked.
A core team of 11 analysts had earlier arrived Abuja in the second week of January to analyse the political, electoral, legal and media aspects of the entire electoral process.
The EU EOM for Nigeria 2023 Election is headed by Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, a member of the EU Parliament from Ireland.
