Political parties and candidates who are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the presidential elections, according to the United Nations (UN), should pursue legal and constitutional remedies.
The UN’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, told NAN in New York that peaceful power transitions have a long history in Nigeria.
He stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had received technical support from the UN, and he added that the assistance had “some” results.
Dujarric claimed that despite the UN’s absence from the election’s observation, tensions frequently erupt anytime the results are unpopular with the populace.
“Well, as I already told you, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UN spokesperson was quoted by NAN as adding, “We are not an observer of these elections.
“Our help has included technical assistance to enhance the procedure and use of technology in organising and conducting the election.
“The UN shouldn’t be allowed to approve or disapprove of how the elections were conducted. I believe that Nigeria has a very strong and proud democratic tradition of recent peaceful power transitions. A procedure is still in progress.
“At this stage in any election, in any nation, it is crucial, and we’ve seen it in the north, we’ve seen it in the south, we’ve seen it in the east, and we’ve seen it in the west, we’ve seen issues of enormous tension after elections when people didn’t accept the results,” said the expert.
Dujarric urged serenity, stating that it would take time to get the desired effects.
He continued by saying that the country would be stabilised through the use of legal means to find answers to the issues brought on by the election results.
The UN spokeswoman urged all parties to use the current legal and constitutional mechanisms to contest any election results they wished to, in the interest of national stability.
“What is important is that, like in every election, if any candidate or group of candidates have a problem with the outcomes, they work things out through the normal legal and constitutional procedures.
And it’s crucial that everyone maintain their composure throughout the course of these activities.
Bola Tinubu was named the victor of the 2023 presidential election on Wednesday by INEC.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have called for Yakubu Mahmood to step down as INEC’s chairman and for the presidential election to be rerun.
The parties referred to the elections as a “rape of democracy” and a fraud.
TheCable
