2023 election lacks transparency Says EU 

European Union releases statement says election lacks transparency: The International Election Observers, European Union releases first preliminary statement Says elections held on

schedule, but lack of transparency and operational failures reduced

trust in the process and challenged the right to vote.

European Union Preliminary statement in the Nigerian election 2023: THE D-DAY

“On 25th February, Nigerians went to the polls in highly anticipated

presidential and National Assembly elections that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INC) kept on schedule despite a volatile and

challenging environment.
Fundamental freedoms of assembly and movement were largely respected,
yet the full enjoyment of the latter was impeded by insufficient planning, insecurity and the prevailing Naira and fuel shortages.
Abuse of incumbency by various political office holders distorted the playing field and there were widespread allegations of vote buying.

Media provided an extensive coverage of the three leading campaigns, while disinformation interfered with voters’ right to make an informed choice on election day. The EU EOM is continuing its observation

of the ongoing collation and tabulation of results throughout

the country.

European Union releases statement says election lacks transparency:The Inec 

INEC’s operational capacity was hampered by the ongoing fuel and Naira shortage.
Insecurity prevented it from accessing some Local Government Areas (GAs), notably in the South.

Attacks on INEC premises, including just days before polling, hindered preparations in affected areas, while instilling fear in voters.
Overall, stakeholders had expressed confidence in INEC’s independence, professionalism, and voter information efforts, but this decreased ahead of elections.

Inec Lack Of Planning 

INEC lacked efficient planning and transparency during critical stages of the electoral process, while on election day trust in INEC was seen further reduced due to delayed polling processes and information gaps related to much anticipated access to results
on its Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
In the lead-up to elections, the widely welcomed Electoral Act 2022 introduced measures aimed at building stakeholder trust, however leaving some important gaps in terms of accountability and INEC’s power to enforce the law. Weak points include a lack of INEC empowerment to enforce sanctions for
electoral offences and breaches of campaign finance rules. Positively, INEC benefited from more timely financing than for previous contests. Other new provisions also aimed to enhance transparency of results.
The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV for the 2023 elections was perceived as an important step to ensure the integrity and credibility of elections. However, delayed
training of technical personnel, an inadequate mock testing exercise, and a lack of public information on the election technologies diminished expectations and left room for speculation and uncertain collation

THE EARLY STAGE

During the early stages of collation, presidential result forms from polling units were not displayed on the IReV, while Senate and House of Representative results were slowly published.

Presidential election result
forms started to be uploaded after 10 pm on election day, raising concerns and reaching only 20 per cent by noon on 26 February. Later the same evening, INEC explained the delay with “Technical hitches.”