Alongside local, national, and international organizations, Dominicans for Justice and Peace Nigeria and Ghana observed the February 25, 2023, Nigerian Presidential Election towards ensuring free, fair, and credible election. 

We witnessed an exceptional high voter turnout at the polling units, prompted by a political reawakening of Nigerians, especially the youths, and the desire to rid the country of the culture of impunity of the ruling class, and birth a new Nigeria where justice, accountability, and the rule of law prevail. 

Despite the late arrival of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and election materials at some polling units, and despite the electorate being disenfranchised in some parts of the country, the election generally went on well until the transmission of election results using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS). There were complaints of the inability of the electoral officers to upload results from polling units, including complaints about codes that did not work. 

We have closely followed the activities at the Abuja INEC Collation Centre, where party agents have expressed great dissatisfaction over the electoral process, particularly that citizens were denied access to real time results at polling units when they were uploaded, contrary to the promise by the INEC Chairman. We have witnessed INEC’s nonadherence to this promise, and uneasiness towards using BIVAS electoral transmitted results.