By Ishaya Ibrahim
The world’s two most dominant democracies, The United States of America and the United Kingdom, on Thursday strongly weighed in strongly on Nigeria’s forthcoming general elections, warning against manipulations.
They threatened to sanction anyone caught interfering with the polls.
In separate statements made available to TheNiche, both countries said they would be monitoring the elections “closely” to ensure they were credible.
Among the sanctions threatened was imposition of visa restrictions to persons caught fomenting trouble before, during and after the elections.
Although the U.S. said it had no preferred candidate, saying it was only interested in the election because of the importance of Nigeria to Africa, it however insisted that, “The conduct of the upcoming elections in Nigeria is important not only for Nigeria, but for the African continent.”
The statement read:
“The conduct of the upcoming elections in Nigeria is important not only for Nigeria, but for the African continent.
“The United States government does not support any specific candidate or party in Nigeria’s upcoming elections. The United States supports the Nigerian democratic process itself. We support a genuinely free, fair, transparent, and peaceful electoral process.
“We, and other democratic nations, will be paying close attention to actions of individuals who interfere in the democratic process or instigate violence against the civilian population before, during, or after the elections.
“We will not hesitate to consider consequences – including visa restrictions – for those found to be responsible for election-related violence or undermining the democratic process. Under US immigration law, certain violations may also lead to restrictions on family members.”
“We welcome the signing of peace pledges by Nigerian candidates and their commitment to a peaceful electoral process.”
In the same vein, the United Kingdom, in its statement, said it was committed to the growth of Nigeria’s democracy through free and fair elections.
It promised to deploy many observers to monitor the elections. The UK also said it would be on the lookout for the use of violence and the social media to influence the outcome of the election.
The statement read:
“23 days to the Presidential and National Assembly elections and 37 days to the governorship and State Assembly elections, the British High Commission in Abuja would like to reaffirm our strong support for free, fair and peaceful elections in Nigeria.
“We and our international partners remain committed supporters of Nigeria’s democracy. We do not support any party or individual and believe that the Nigerian people should be able to choose their leaders in an environment free from hate speech and insecurity.
“We continue to provide significant support to Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission and to Nigerian civil society to help them deliver credible elections. We also regularly engage with actors across the political spectrum to encourage them to respect electoral rules and maintain an atmosphere of peace and calm.
“We will be deploying an extensive observation mission for the forthcoming elections, including coordinating with the EU’s Election Observation Mission. Our monitors will, in particular, be looking out for any attempts to encourage or use violence to influence the elections, including on social media.
“We would like to remind all Nigerians that where the UK is aware of such attempts, this may have consequences for individuals. These could include their eligibility to travel to the UK, their ability to access UK based funds or lead to prosecution under international law.
“The UK is a friend and partner of Nigeria. We hope our continued support will play a role in helping Nigeria take a further step towards consolidating the progress made since democracy returned in 1999.”