The conduct of the Nigerian elections has stirred a lot of controversy about the relevance of international election observation to the political exercise. While the idea of inviting external election observers could be regarded as a further step for the country in improving its democracy after the transition of power from the military to civilian rule in 1999, the challenges that keep affecting its electoral process appear to render such an idea ineffective.
This study examines the impact of international election observation on the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. Using a desk-based research method, the study focuses on three criteria: electoral violence, electoral fraud, and the use of technology in the electoral process, to determine if the involvement of international election observers had any impact on the election as well as the subsequent electoral process in the country.
For electoral violence and electoral fraud, the study finds that the involvement of the international election observers did not have significant impacts, though their reports did increase public and international awareness about these challenges. Concerning the use of technology in the electoral process, the study reveals certain developments in the electoral process, such as biometric technology, which could be linked with the activities of the international election observers in the previous elections. However, the research shows that certain challenges affected this development and made it unable to fully contribute to achieving a credible conduct of the election.
The research concludes that the conduct of elections in Nigeria can benefit from international election observation to improve its electoral process and democratic status in the global community, but for such an idea to be effective, it relies heavily on the commitment to genuine democratic principles by the government administration, electoral commission, political parties, security agencies, and the people.
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