Hi. Welcome to 234Digest: an independent, nonpartisan, reader-focused newsletter that informs you in quick time with fact-based news, features and insights about Nigeria. In this edition, we’re covering recently concluded governorship polls in Nigeria along with matters arising.

Nigeria elections: Lessons. Please

Last Saturday, Nigerians headed back to the polls to elect state governors amid tensions that followed last month’s disputed presidential vote.

Now, after voting in the governorship and state assembly polls reduced – but never eliminated – anxiety surrounding the vote in which European Union observers said 21 people died from violence, the question is, what has Nigeria learned from the two rounds of elections?

Observers say the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) improved on its performance after the presidential vote of February 25.

But while polling generally opened on time during Saturday’s elections, including improvement in the timely upload of results to an electronic viewing portal, cases of violence worsened across the country, according to reports.

Obstruction and organized violence limited the free expression of the will of the voters, despite efforts by civil society to promote democratic standards, the European Union Election Observation Mission said in a statement. Polling on election day, the statement added, was disrupted by multiple incidents of thuggery and intimidation targeted at voters, polling officials, observers, and journalists. Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos, Kano in the north, and other states in the southern and central part were most affected, according to the EU Election Observation Mission.

The complaints — of violence and rigging —surrounding elections in Nigeria especially since the country’s return to democracy in 1999 is one reason Nigeria needs to examine the lapses of the 2023 elections to ensure they don’t occur again.

Barry Andrews, European Union Observer Mission Nigeria chief observer, told a news conference that the conduct of the 2023 elections revealed systemic weaknesses of election administration that if not fully addressed could lead to democratic backsliding.

With that concern in mind, observers including civil society, citizens and even members of the political elites have called on Nigerian authorities to make sure they help the democratic process maintain credibility to dispel fears of democratic erosion among Nigerian voters. Some have called for the establishment of an electoral offenses commission to punish offenders and serve as warning to others. The role of state security services in securing the process across the country is another important issue.

The international community appears to be doing its part. Apart from speaking out, countries like the United States — where many Nigerians, including elites, travel to seek and enjoy refuge — are following up words with action.

On Tuesday, the U.S Mission in Nigeria, in a press statement, called on the authorities to hold accountable and bring to justice any individual found to have ordered or carried out efforts to intimidate voters and suppress voting during the election process.

Additionally, it said the U.S will consider all available actions, including visa restrictions, on those believed to be complicit in undermining the democratic process in Nigeria.

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