The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has dismissed reports that it rejected an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said the reports suggesting that the bloc had declined INEC’s invitation were inaccurate and speculative.
Mignot, in a statement on Monday, confirmed that the EU received INEC’s invitation in April and subsequently responded that it would deploy an Electoral Expert Mission (EEM) comprising between two and four independent observers.
The clarification followed reports that the EU’s decision to deploy fewer than five observers indicated that it was reluctant to send a full election observation mission to Nigeria.
Some media reports had claimed that the bloc was withdrawing from the 2027 elections and ending its two-decade involvement in election monitoring in Nigeria.
The reports further suggested that the EU had rejected INEC’s invitation and would instead send a smaller team because of security concerns and alleged hostile treatment of its officials after the 2023 general elections.
Mignot, however, said those explanations were not contained in the EU’s response to INEC.
According to him, the decision on the type and size of an electoral mission is based on the circumstances of each country and the resources available to the EU.
“The European Union decides every year on electoral missions to be sent to partner countries, issuing invitations to the EU and, if the decision is positive, the kind of mission to be sent to each of them, depending on individual situations and available resources,” he said.
He added that the decision to conduct an Electoral Expert Mission in Nigeria had already been taken and would be subject to further consultations with the relevant Nigerian authorities.
Mignot also rejected the reasons attributed to the EU in reports concerning its decision to deploy only two to four observers.
“The EU Delegation further underlines that the two alleged reasons mentioned in the press reports do not appear in the letter: these are pure speculations,” he said.
The ambassador stressed that the decision to deploy an Electoral Expert Mission should not be interpreted as a withdrawal from Nigeria’s electoral process.
He said the EU-funded Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria project would continue, including its component supporting the country’s electoral process.
“This decision does not affect in any way the continuation of the implementation of the EU-funded project ‘Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria’, including its dimension of support to the electoral process,” Mignot added.
The clarification effectively puts to rest reports that the EU had ended its election observation activities in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections, although the bloc’s planned mission will be significantly smaller than a full-scale election observation mission.
