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Financial Times Labels Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election as Badly Flawed
The Financial Times has criticized Nigeria‘s 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections, saying they were badly flawed.
The London-based publication accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of mismanaging the elections, and advised the courts to scrutinize the emergence of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, if his victory were to be challenged.
The publication also pointed out that Tinubu’s win gave him the weakest of mandates, with 8.8 million votes in a population of 220 million.
It warned that he would face one of the world’s most challenging jobs, with Nigeria on the verge of catastrophe due to increased insecurity and a near-absence of economic growth.
The Financial Times maintained that a clean election was necessary to reaffirm the message of democracy, but that this was not the case in Nigeria.
The publication noted that INEC had high expectations and that neutral observers believed INEC was in good shape, yet it failed to deliver a smooth election.
The presidential election lacked transparency and accountability, with late start times and a flawed system for uploading results from polling stations, causing legitimate concerns over vote tampering.
There were also reports of violence at polling stations.
While congratulating Tinubu on his victory, the paper advised him to remove Nigeria’s fuel subsidy and rationalize the exchange rate system.
It also urged him to undertake urgent reforms in Nigeria’s key security agencies, i.e.
The paper further advised Tinubu to name competent and honest ministers in his cabinet.
Credit: https://punchng.com/nigeria-presidential-election-flawed-financial-times/
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