Brussels, March 7. The European Union (EU) on Tuesday welcomed with “satisfaction” respect for the democratic process in Nigeria’s February 25 presidential elections, won by the ruling party Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and urged all parties to support a development “peaceful” to what remains of the electoral process in the country.
“As the process progresses, the EU is encouraged that all presidential candidates and political parties respect the rule of law, seeking to resolve their differences through established legal means,” he said. said an EU spokeswoman. .
Seven Nigerian states ruled by the main opposition force, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), on March 3 withdrew their legal challenge to Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential elections.
“We welcome the strong commitment of all political actors in continuing the electoral process, calling on the electorate to peacefully support and vote in the upcoming gubernatorial and state assembly elections,” the spokeswoman said. of Foreign Affairs of the European Union. Commission, Nabila Massrali.
The EU expects all stakeholders, in particular the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to do their utmost to ensure that the March 11 elections take place “according to the required standards and the highest expectations of the Nigerian people”.
The seven claimant states found that INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the winner was not in accordance with the law, after the electronic transmission of polling station results could not be completed completely, which the electoral body attributed to him “technical failures”.
It was the first time that Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa (more than 213 million inhabitants), used this technology during general elections, adopted to prevent possible irregularities.
Tinubu, 70 and a candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, was declared the winner last Wednesday with 36% of the vote (8.79 million votes), according to INEC figures.
The president-elect, who ruled influential southern Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, inherits a nation plagued by growing insecurity in parts of the country, with constant attacks by criminal gangs who kidnap civilians against a lucrative ransom, jihadist groups and separatist rebels.
It will also have to deal with the devaluation of the local currency (naira), galloping inflation and high unemployment, as Nigeria stands out as Africa’s top oil producer and the continent’s largest economy. EFE
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