Despite declines in political and civil liberties on the continent, regular elections – an indispensable foundation of democracy – signal that democracy is gradually taking root in Africa. The frequency of elections on the continent presents an undeniable opportunity for citizens to assert their sovereignty and negotiate a new social contract with the ruling political...

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the head of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission (NEC), Miatta French, has urged Nigerians to vote their preferred candidates despite money and other gifts some candidates may offer them. The commissioner said this during a #WatchingTheVote discussion on lessons from Sierra Leone election in Abuja. The event was organised...

The Republic of Sierra Leone conducted its general elections to elect the President, Parliament and local councils. The Presidential election was inconclusive as no candidate secured 55% of the vote to win the first round. In line with constitutional stipulations, presidential run-off election was conducted on March 28, 2018. Julius Maada Bio of the opposition...

YIAGA AFRICA #WatchingTheVote (WTV) Interim Report on the Display, Claims and Objection Exercise Conducted by INEC from Monday, March 26 to Saturday, March 31, 2018 YIAGA AFRICA, formerly known as Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement is a civic organization promoting democracy, governance and development in Africa through advocacy, research and capacity building. Our...

 YIAGA AFRICA #WatchingTheVote (WTV) Interim Report on the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) for the Period January 09 to March 06, 2018  YIAGA AFRICA, formerly known as Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement is a civic organization promoting democracy, governance and development in Africa through advocacy, research and capacity building. Our goal is to build...

Even though, subtle campaigns and declaration of intention to run for public office in has started long before now, the Independent National Electoral Commission has officially declared open, campaign and political activities leading to the elections. As reported by The Punch, INEC has issued Notice of election for the July 14, 2018 governorship election in...

As part of preparations for observation of the 2019 general elections, YIAGA Africa’s #Watching the Vote (WTV) Project has commenced recruitment of volunteers across the 36 States including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who would serve as State Focal Points (SFPs) on the project. The SFPs will coordinate and manage the election observation recruitment as...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti on Wednesday said that 218,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were yet to be collected in the state. The commission said this just as it formally issued a “Notice of Election”, which stated that the governorship election would hold in the state on July 14. It said that...

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday began the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for the second quarter of 2018 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The exercise commenced at the Karu centre at about 11 a.m. despite the presence of many people eager to be registered. People had gathered at the centre as early as 8...

The 2019 General Elections is barely a year to go and avalanche of political campaigns from every medium of communication will start flooding the Nigerian space and beyond as politicians seek votes from prospective voters. Even though, political campaign has not been officially declared open, Nigerian politicians are already declaring their interest to run for...