EU, UK, US, Others Task Politicians on Sustenance of Democracy

As Nigeria celebrate 19 years of uninterrupted democratic rule, the European Union (EU),United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA) and 19 other countries on Monday charged Nigerians, particularly politicians, to do everything possible to preserve the current democratic form of government in the country.

The charge was contained in a goodwill message to Nigeria on the occasion of her Democracy Day celebration.

In a joint statement signed by the 22 countries and made available to journalists, they specifically urged the executive and legislature to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in ensuring that the 2019 general election is free, fair and credible.

"The struggle to achieve democracy gives it a special value and places responsibility on all of us to support the democratic process.  We congratulate Nigeria on its progress since 1999, including the first peaceful transition of power from a ruling party to an opposition party in 2015.  As we celebrate your progress, we encourage and support Nigeria and its people to consolidate and deepen democracy as the country heads towards important elections next year.

"Who will win the general elections in 2019 is a decision for the Nigerian people. Our concern as partners of Nigeria is to see a process that is free, fair and inclusive. We are particularly keen to see greater participation in politics from under-represented groups, including women, young people and people with disabilities.

"We offer our strong support to the INEC and welcome the technical improvements they have introduced to the electoral process.  We encourage the government and legislators to work with INEC to achieve further improvements at least six months before the elections in line with the established ECOWAS protocol," the statement read in part.

The statement further noted that just like in other countries, Nigerians made huge sacrifices to achieve democracy, hence the need to ensure such sacrifices are not in vain.

According to it, "Democracy is not only about the voting process. It also requires a strong and ongoing commitment from political actors to uphold the democratic ideal. We have noted with concern recent reports of violence, intimidation and corruption, both within parties and between parties. 

"We take advantage of this national celebration of democracy to urge all political parties to maintain Nigerian and international norms and support a credible process. It is the fundamental right of the Nigerian people to freely express their will now and in the forthcoming elections."

The signatories include the European Union, Germany, France, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada and Czech Republic.

Others are Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.