• PDP alleges bid to weaken opposition ahead of elections
• HURIWA: Don’t let terrorists become ‘invisible election observers’
• CSOs challenge INEC’s e-EC8A, backend validation process

Reports suggesting that the European Union (EU) was pulling back from Nigeria’s 2027 elections proved inaccurate; however, the swift reactions that followed have exposed underlying concerns over the country’s electoral process.

The EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has since clarified that it accepted the Independent National Electoral Commission’s invitation to observe the elections but will deploy a two-to-four-member Electoral Expert Mission rather than a full-scale election observation mission. It dismissed as “pure speculations”, reports that worsening insecurity and the alleged hostile treatment of its officials informed the decision.

The clarification came after the reported EU pullback had already triggered reactions, with the Taminu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) linking the development to what it described as weaknesses in election management and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) describing it as a “bad omen” for Nigeria’s democracy.

In a statement signed by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, the delegation said it received INEC’s formal invitation dated April 17, 2026, to deploy observers for the 2027 elections.

It said that in its response dated July 28, 2026, it thanked INEC for the invitation and informed the commission of its decision to field an EEM, whose members would be formally accredited as observers by INEC.

The clarification followed reports that the EU had written to INEC declining to observe the elections, citing worsening insecurity and the alleged hostile treatment of its observers and officials after the publication of its final report on the 2023 general elections.

The delegation described the reports as inaccurate and said the two reasons cited in them did not appear in its letter to INEC.

“The EU Delegation further underlines that the two alleged reasons mentioned in the press reports do not appear in the letter: these are pure speculations,” it said.

The delegation explained that the EU decides annually on the electoral missions it will send to partner countries that invite it, as well as the type of mission to be deployed, based on the circumstances of individual countries and available resources.

It said the decision to conduct an EEM in Nigeria was made on that basis and would be subject to further consultation with relevant Nigerian authorities.

According to the EU, an EEM, like an Electoral Observation Mission, assesses whether an electoral process complies with international, regional and national obligations and commitments on democratic elections.

It added that the EEM would submit a final report containing recommendations for improving Nigeria’s electoral framework and future electoral processes. The report would be shared with the government and could be made publicly available with its agreement.

The EU Delegation also said its decision would not affect the implementation of the EU-funded “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria” project, including its support for the electoral process.

The delegation urged media organisations to verify reports concerning EU positions and statements with its press and communication office to avoid publishing inaccurate information.

“The EU Delegation respectfully reminds members of the esteemed media community that, to avoid issuing such misleading information about positions or statements of the EU, they can simply check their accuracy with the press and communication office of the EU Delegation,” it said.

PDP alleges bid to weaken opposition ahead of polls
THE Taminu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party said the reported decision by the European Union to scale back its election observation mission for the 2027 general elections confirms concerns over weaknesses in election management under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.

The party, in a statement yesterday signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the reported EU announcement had reinforced fears among local and international stakeholders about the conduct of the forthcoming elections.

The PDP said the development would have been historic, as it would have been the first Nigerian general election since the return to democracy in 1999 in which the EU would not deploy a full election observation mission.

It alleged that since 2023, the APC-led Federal Government had intensified efforts to ensure that the 2027 elections were “uncontested in any meaningful sense”.

The party alleged that the government had employed tactics including “state-funded crises in opposition political parties, coercion and enticement of opposition governors and national legislators, persecution and intimidation of opposition bigwigs, and the weaponisation of inflammatory electoral rhetoric”.

It cited the President’s declaration to “snatch it, take it and run with it” and his reported assertion that “all is fair in politics” as examples of such rhetoric.

The PDP described the reported pullback as one of several “votes of no confidence” by strategic stakeholders in election management under the APC-led administration.

It said: “When confidence in the electoral process erodes, so does the credibility of elections and, ultimately, democracy itself.

“Elections must be a true reflection of the wishes of the people, freely expressed through the ballot. Any attempt by the ruling party to impose itself on the people, despite its abysmally poor performance in governance, is not just undemocratic and unconstitutional, but must be condemned and resisted by all fair-minded people.”

The party said it would work with other opposition parties, civil society organisations and Nigerians to demand transparency, accountability and sincerity in the electoral process.

“This is the irreducible minimum,” it said.

HURIWA: Don’t let terrorists become ‘invisible election observers’
THE Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) described the reported pullback as a bad omen for Nigeria’s democracy and international democratic reputation, urging the Federal Government to treat it as a serious warning.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the organisation said the development should serve as a wake-up call to the government, security agencies and other stakeholders responsible for safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic process.

HURIWA said: “We consider this a bad omen that demands urgent corrective action. Nigeria cannot build a credible democracy in an environment where insecurity prevents citizens from freely travelling, political parties from campaigning, electoral officials from reaching polling units and observers from independently monitoring elections.”

“The security situation must therefore be treated as a fundamental component of the preparations for the 2027 general elections.”

The organisation called on President Bola Tinubu to intensify efforts against terrorism, banditry, insurgency and other violent crimes capable of disrupting the electoral process.

“The objective must be to create a sufficiently peaceful and secure atmosphere in which Nigerians can campaign, vote and participate in the democratic process without fear.

“Terrorists and other criminal groups must never be allowed to determine where Nigerians can travel, where candidates can campaign or whether citizens can exercise their constitutional right to vote.

“We therefore call for sustained military pressure against terrorist networks and their collaborators, including the disruption of their logistics, financing, recruitment and operational capabilities.”

HURIWA also called for greater synergy among the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force and intelligence agencies in tackling insecurity ahead of the elections.

The organisation said international election observers should not be treated as enemies because their reports contain criticisms of the conduct of Nigerian elections.

“Nigeria must not allow terrorists to become the invisible election observers of 2027 by determining where citizens can vote, where candidates can campaign and where observers can go,” HURIWA said.

CSOs demand INEC scrap e-EC8A, backend result validation
IN a related development, a coalition of civil society organisations has raised the alarm over new features introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the management and transmission of election results, warning that they could undermine transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.

The groups, under the aegis of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, expressed particular concern over INEC’s introduction of an electronic EC8A on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and a new backend validation process before results are published on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).

In a common position signed by 14 civil society organisations, the coalition said the 2026 Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections require polling officials to input result scores into the electronic EC8A on the BVAS, but failed to clearly state where the data would be transmitted or what purpose it would serve.

The groups also questioned the decision to subject transmitted results to what they described as an “unexplained backend validation” before publication on IReV.

The statement was endorsed by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Centre for Media and Society, Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development, CISLAC, Dataphyte, ElectHer, International Press Centre, Inclusive Friends Association, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, TAF Africa, TAP Initiative, The Kukah Centre and Yiaga Africa.

According to them, the validation process is not visible to the public, polling agents or election observers, while INEC has yet to explain what is being validated, who conducts the review or how long the process should take.

They warned that the gap between the transmission of results and their eventual publication on IReV could create uncertainty and weaken confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.

The coalition further argued that the introduction of the electronic EC8A could create multiple versions of the same polling-unit result, potentially generating confusion in the event of discrepancies.

It said the physical EC8A, the scanned result uploaded to IReV and retained on the BVAS, and the electronically transmitted e-EC8A could result in different layers of the same result being available within the system.

The CSOs therefore urged INEC to abolish the backend validation of transmitted results before publication on IReV or, at the very least, subject the process to public and independent scrutiny.

They also called on the electoral commission to publish a comprehensive results-transmission protocol that would enable Nigerians to understand the entire results-management process and allow for an independent assessment of the upgraded BVAS and IReV.

The coalition equally demanded the removal of the electronic EC8A from the results-management process, arguing that the additional electronic collation layer could potentially provide advance information on electoral outcomes that compromised officials might exploit to manipulate the process.

“The forthcoming Osun election is a major test of the results-management process,” the groups said, urging the Commission to implement their recommendations as evidence of its commitment to transparency, accountability and electoral integrity.