Did EU observers favour Buhari over Jonathan in 2015 polls?

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria has rejected claims that it favoured President Muhammadu Buhari in its coverage of the polls.

The Chief Observer, Santiago Fisas stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja on the mission's assessment of the 2015 elections.

Fisas, who is also a member of the European Parliament, said the mission was more concerned about entrenching democracy and the electoral process than who emerged as the President.
He hailed former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting the outcomes of the polls in the interest of the country.

"The international community is not in favour of any candidate. The election was done in a proper way and I praise former President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting the defeat. I think it has proved that he is a man of the state, that he put the interest of Nigeria before his own interest.

"That is an example in Nigeria and for many countries in Africa to follow, he accepted that he lost election to another party," he said.

The mission was in Nigeria to assess electoral reform process and the extent to which its recommendations of the 2015 elections have been implemented.

He commended the National Assembly for the progress made so far in constitutional and electoral amendments, urging the legislatures to fast-track the process.

He also hailed INEC for initiatives, including an improved continuous voter registration and the merging of accreditation and voting process for off-cycle elections.

The mission however listed areas that required attention to include, provisions empowering INEC to sanction campaign violations, increased transparency in the publication of results and reinforced policies to better integrate women and youth into political life.

"We know to run for election in Nigeria is quite expensive. We also know that campaign is costly so I believe that political parties should help women in campaigning and it is very important to promote the participation of women in politics from the local election,” he said.

"Security is important and the people must be free to go to vote. It is important that Nigeria merge the accreditation and voting on the same moment, this is important for the comfort of people,” he added. here