– Issued on Tuesday, 18th July 2023 in Abuja
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room is making this statement to provide some sort of education on its observation of elections in the country and help unsuspecting citizens gain understanding of the report that is causing stirs in some quarters.
This is coming on the heels of a publication by Guardian Newspaper on 12th July 2023 titled “INEC, CSO’s tango over 2023 election report, coverage” which was copied into Daily Trust Newspaper of 18th July 2023 and hurriedly edited to a different title “2023 polls: how poor polling units deployment questions accuracy of observers’ reports.”
First and most foremost, election observation is a segment of research methodology and has to follow a scientific sampling procedure. There is nowhere in the world or research field that must sample at least 10% of a population of about 177,000 before the result can be significantly relevant. Not even in the infectious diseases research field.
Since 2011 when it began to observe elections, Situation Room has adopted the standard sampling method for observation of elections by deploying accredited observers to a representative unit at different stages of the election. In addition, Situation Room receives reports from its member organisations and networks in order to carryout analysis of the election process and draw a conclusion. For the 2023 General Elections, Situation Room trained and partnered with over 100 organisations at the sub-national level. This is the pattern that has been followed since 2011 and reports issued have been accepted and used for electoral reforms in the country.
Reports of many other independent accredited observer groups on the 2023 General Elections corroborate that of the Situation Room. That some people find Situation Room report uncomfortable this time around and feel the urge to fight back validate the platform’s conclusion that the election process in the last General Election was poor and below standard.
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SIGNED:
Y.Z Ya’u
Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Mimidoo Achakpa
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Franklin Oloniju
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
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The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria numbering more than seventy. The Steering Committee is made up of: Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, DIG Foundation, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation. Other groups are Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Centre LSD, CISLAC, WARD-C, Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI), Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, JDPC, Yiaga Africa, Development Dynamics, EiE Nigeria, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Stakeholder Democracy Network, Human Rights Monitor, Reclaim Naija, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR,) Nigerian Women Trust Fund, The Albino Foundation, , Electoral Hub, etc