The ECOWAS Observer mission to Nigeria’s 2007 general elections has described Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections as “relatively free and peaceful.”

The mission has however deplored the serious logistics problems and sporadic violence and thuggery that marred the smooth conduct of the polls.

In its preliminary statement on the 14th April elections, the leader of the mission, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, told a press conference a day after the elections that majority of the voters were able to cast their votes in a “relatively tranquil and orderly manner.”

The 150-member mission which he said would rise to 200 for the 21st April 2007 Presidential and National Assembly elections, observed a relatively high level of expectation, enthusiasm and determination among the electorate.
In the comprehensive statement, which covered the various aspects of the ECOWAS engagement with the process, Sir Dawda said voter enthusiasm was “tinged with a sense of apprehension and frustration, as a sizable number of voters had problems locating their polling stations.” He also deplored the late arrival of electoral officials, materials and opening of almost all the polling stations in 20 of the country’s 36 states they were deployed.

The mission also observed the unsuitability of some of the locations used for polling, which not only created difficulties for the voters but compromised the secrecy of the ballot. The mission described the counting, consolidating, declaration and certification of the results as carried out in a transparent and acceptable manner.

Sir Dawda further noted that several polling stations in the country’s South East and the Niger Delta lacked result cards, which prevented the counting of ballots at the stations.
He added that in some cases, electoral officials refused to carry out the counting, citing insecurity and poor visibility. The Mission urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to mobilize all available resources to eliminate shortcomings observed during the elections before the Presidential and National Assembly elections. Sir Jawara saluted the patience, courage and determination exhibited by the Nigerian people during the elections.