Before the elections, there were tensions everywhere with the fear of possible outbreak of violence, but the tension, anxiety and fear fizzled out after the elections.
The INEC chairman who spoke yesterday at the commission’s headquarters when he received a delegation led by the Ambassador of Mexico to Nigeria, Marco Antonio Garcia Blanco, said: “We are indeed very happy that our elections turned out successful and to have been recognised both nationally and internationally as free, fair, credible and also peaceful.
“Leading to the election, some impressions had been created, particularly in the international media as if this may be the end of our country. Thank God it was doomsday prediction which turned out to be false,” he said.Jega, who was delighted by the offer to share experiences with other countries, explained that though the 2015 elections were not perfect, they were much better than that of 2011 and admitted that there was room for improvement.
The INEC boss said: “We know that the election has not been perfect; we know that it was better than 2011; but there is also a lot of scope for improvement and that is why we welcome every opportunity to visit other countries to study how their elections are conducted as well as exchange ideas and learn good practices which we can continue to adapt to our own circumstances for continuous improvement of our own electoral process.”
He appreciated the efforts of the Mexican ambassador in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between both countries in sharing electoral experiences and said such bilateral relationship should be extended to other sectors.
“You facilitated the signing of the MoU which has been very useful while many of our staff have benefited by participating in some conferences. All these experiences have been useful and beneficial and we cherish the opportunity,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Ambassador Blanco had said his mission to the commission was to “transmit congratulatory message for a great job done by INEC in the last electoral process.” He said everybody recognised the key role played by the commission in the successes achieved in the last electoral process.
He called on the leadership of INEC to share experience with his country which he said is very important in improving the electoral process in Mexico. “Your expertise, knowledge and wisdom will be a great asset to our electoral body. With experience sharing, Mexico will benefit a lot,” he said as he advocated for continuous strengthening of existing bi-lateral relationship between both countries.
-Thisday
-Thisday