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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUJA #0771/01 1141230
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241230Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9269
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 6665
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHCKJAC/JAC MOLESWORTH JCDX RAF MOLESWORTH UK PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ABUJA 000771 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM NI
SUBJECT: OBSERVERS SAY NIGERIAN ELECTIONS FLAWED 
 
¶1. Summary: In a series of press conferences, the five main 
international observation groups said that the Nigerian 
elections were characterized by poor organization, lacked 
transparency and were marred by widespread irregularities. 
The elections, as a result, fell far short of international 
standards. The Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) and 
the Commonwealth did not make any sweeping conclusions, but 
rather detailed a long list of irregularities its observers 
witnessed. The ECOWAS delegation noted voting and counting 
irregularities and the Commonwealth delegation referred to 
the elections as "vexed." The European Union Election 
Observation Mission, which rendered the bluntest statement 
concluded that "the elections have not lived up to hopes and 
expectations of the Nigerian people and the process cannot be 
considered to have been credible." The International 
Republican Institute (IRI) noted the elections fell "below 
the standard set by previous Nigerian elections and 
international standards," and the National Democratic 
Institute (NDI) concluded that "the cumulative effect of the 
serious problems its delegation witnessed substantially 
compromised the integrity of the electoral process." End 
Summary. 
 
EUROPEAN UNION: ELECTIONS NOT CREDIBLE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. The European Union Election Observation Mission deployed 
more than 150 observers from 21 countries. The leader of the 
delegation Max van den Berg had also observed the 2003 
elections in Nigeria. In its hard-hitting report, the EU said 
the elections lacked credibility as a result of "poor 
organization, lack of transparency, widespread procedural 
irregularities, significant evidence of fraud, voter 
disenfranchisement, lack of equal conditions for contestants 
and numerous incidents of violence."  At a press conference 
on April 23, van den Berg called the group's statement 
perhaps the toughest ever and blamed INEC and the ruling 
party for many of the irregularities. He called the announced 
results "magic" and said the 2007 elections did not measure 
up to the low standards set in 2003. 
 
¶3. The EU called for a more independent election commission. 
It noted that INEC's dependence on the executive and its 
selective application of electoral legislation led to a lack 
of confidence among election stakeholders. The EU concluded 
that the performance of the judiciary was one bright spot in 
an otherwise deeply flawed electoral process. 
 
COMMONWEALTH AND ECOWAS: A LITANY OF IRREGULARITIES 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶4. The Commonwealth and ECOWAS delegation statements did not 
draw broad conclusions in their statements. Both focused on 
detailing the long litany of irregularities its observers 
witnessed. The ECOWAS delegation headed by Dr. Dawda Jawara, 
former President of Gambia, noted that there were substantive 
problems which robbed voters of the secrecy of vote, the 
potential for multiple voting and a lack of accountability 
for the voting material. The delegation report also noted a 
litany of logistical problems ranging from a shortage of 
voting materials to voting booths and that the vote counting 
was not systematic or timely and led to legitimate concerns 
"seriously challenging the transparency of the collation and 
tabulation of elections results." 
 
¶5. The Commonwealth delegation, headed by former Tanzanian 
Prime Minister Joseph Warioba, said it noted some improvement 
in the conduct of the second round of elections on April 21, 
but that both rounds had significant shortcomings. Irregular 
polling hours, and distribution of polling materials were 
important problems, as was the lack of accountability of the 
last minute printing of presidential ballots which lacked 
serial numbers. Overall INEC's announcement that it needed to 
redo elections in at least six states was an admission of the 
impact of problems noted by Nigerian voters and international 
observers. 
 
IRI AND NDI: BELOW ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS AND A STEP BACKWARD 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶6. IRI said that Nigeria's elections fell below acceptable 
standards. Its delegation was headed by Ambassador 
Pierre-Richard Prosper, Abbe Apollinaire Malumalu (President 
of the Indepedent Elections Commission in the Democratic 
Republic of Congo) and Andras Gyurk (a Hungarian member of 
the European Parliament). The statement noted that the poor 
election was the cumulative effect of poor preparations 
starting with voter's registration, and political efforts to 
"bypass Nigeria's constitutional process to selectively 
disqualify candidates running for office." IRI concluded that 
"these elections did not measure up to those observed by the 
members of IRI's international delegation in other countries 
whether in Africa, Asia, Europe or the Western hemisphere." 
 
¶7. NDI's delegation, headed by former Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright and former Canadian Prime Minister Joe 
Clark, noted that the electoral process failed the Nigerian 
people. The cumulative effect of the serious problems of the 
delegation witnessed substantially compromised the integrity 
of the electoral process. NDI, like all the international 
observer groups, noted a long list of electoral 
irregularities including a failed voter's registration, voter 
fraud and intimidation and a lack of transparency in 
tabulations of results. The cumulative impact "represents a 
step backward in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, and ... 
threatens to further erode citizen confidence in the 
country's democratic institutions." 
 
 
CAMPBELL