By Sumaila Ogbaje
The Police Chaplains Electoral Observation Mission in Nigeria, and eight Domestic Observers that monitored Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections have described the poll as a sign of the country’s political maturity.
The mission, which is the arm of the International Police Chaplain Sustainable Development and Law Enforcement (IPCSL) Inc., USA, said this while presenting their preliminary report on Wednesday in Abuja.
Other groups are the Grassroots Empowerment Initiative for Positive Change and Development, Voters Awareness Initiative, Society for the Protection of Human Rights and African Civil Society Forum.
They also include Africa Youths International Development Foundation, Pan African Leadership League, Centre for Strategic Conflicts Management, and Youth and Public Safety Awareness Initiative, monitored the election across the country.
Presenting the preliminary report on the election, the Head of IPCSL Mission, Col. Johaness Makouvia, described the exercise as peaceful.
Makouvia said the process conformed with the international standard, adding that the discreet presence of the security forces in most of the polling centers allowed for the peaceful conduct of the voting process.
According to him, electoral law stipulates that voting is secret and that each polling station has at least one voting booth, saying the mission observed compliance with this provision in the polling stations visited.