The United States Government has warned that Nigerian politicians who undermine Nigeria’s democratic elections in 2023 through violent acts will be placed under visa sanctions. This was disclosed by Rolf Olson, Political Counselor at the U.S Embassy in Nigeria during the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association Annual Seminar in Abuja on Thursday. He added that The United States does not support any individual candidate or party in this election cycle.
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Visa sanctions: Olson noted that visa sanctions are one of the tools the US Government would use to help curb violence. He said:
- “When we say all Nigerians, we mean all: politicians, candidates, students, leaders of religious, traditional, community, youth, and business organizations and entities – everyone has a role to play in this effort. Even a small number of troublemakers can cause substantial havoc in an election. It takes a comprehensive effort to try to eliminate the use of violence and inflammatory rhetoric.
- “Individuals seeking to undermine the democratic process, including through violence, may be found ineligible for visas to the United States. We have imposed visa restrictions in the past against those responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process, and remain fully willing to do so again in the context of the upcoming elections.
- “There is no true democratic election in which the outcome is foretold, adding that any candidate who is not willing to accept the possibility that you might be defeated, should not be running for office in the first place.”
Olson urged that no democracy, Nigeria’s included, is well-served if millions of its citizens believe only one legitimate outcome on election day is possible. He, therefore, warned political parties to “steer clear of that kind of rhetoric, and Nigeria’s electoral process will be much the better for it.”
No party support: He also reemphasized that the U.S Government has no support for any individual candidate or party in the 2023 General elections or any other election. According to him, “the United States does not support any individual candidate or party in this election cycle.“
He added that its interest is in supporting credible and transparent elections that reflect the will of Nigerian voters, in a process that is conducted peacefully.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the proof of child voters and multiple registered voters in its Voter Display Scheme is a sign of its ” commitment to transparency”.
INEC stated that the purpose of the display is to enable Nigerians to scrutinize the preliminary register and make claims about the misspelling of names, personal details, or missing names ” for persons below the age of 18 years, dead persons, foreigners or those making false claims so that they can be deleted from the register.
