The European Union, EU; United States of America, USA; United Kingdom, UK, and other foreign governments, yesterday, demanded a process that would herald free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections as political parties flagged off political campaigns ahead of the 2019 polls.
In a statement by no fewer than 24 countries, including France, Germany, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden, the international community said: “As friends of Nigeria and its people, we will follow the campaigns and election process closely. “Who wins the elections is for the Nigerian people to decide. Our concern is to see a process leading to free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.
“We hope to see transparent campaigns and we urge all voters to use their democratic right and vote. We are particularly keen to see greater participation of women, youth and people living with disabilities. “We urge all involved to refrain from using hate speech and take a firm stance against violence.
“The 2015 Peace Accords played an important role in that regard; we welcome new efforts towards that end.”
