116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 1 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States to 

maintain a strong bilateral relationship with a politically 

stable, democratic, and economically sound Nigeria that 

can play a leadership role in the region and the continent 

more broadly; 

Whereas Nigeria has presidential and National Assembly 

elections scheduled for February 16, 2019, and gubernatorial and state-level elections scheduled for March 2, 

2019; 

Whereas credible, transparent, and peaceful elections could 

further consolidate democratic gains achieved in Nigeria 

since the transition from military to civilian democratic 

rule; 

Whereas a 2017 survey conducted by Afrobarometer found 

that the overwhelming majority of Nigerians agreed that 

democratic elections are the best means of choosing their 

country’s leaders, thus indicating that the country’s citizens are deeply committed to democracy; 

Whereas collaboration between civil society actors and the 

international community was a key factor that contributed to successful elections in 2015; 

Whereas successive elections in Nigeria have featured varying 

degrees of violence; 
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Whereas both the ruling coalition and opposition parties have 

incited ethnic violence in an apparent effort to gain electoral advantage, intimidate electoral rivals, and suppress 

voter turnout; 

Whereas, during the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections 

in July 2018 and September 2018, respectively, there 

were concerning incidents in which some elements of Nigeria’s security agencies displayed partisanship and a 

lack of objectivity, which risks escalating tensions within 

the country; 

Whereas Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken important steps to improve electoral processes, notably through the introduction of continuous voter registration, the adoption of simultaneous 

accreditation and voting, improvements to the secrecy of 

the ballot, and the advancement of smart card reader 

technology; 

Whereas remaining challenges to the conduct of credible, 

transparent, and peaceful elections in Nigeria include the 

failure to enact additional, critical reforms to the legal 

framework for elections, instances of vote buying, reported security threats in the Middle Belt and North 

East, incitement, and disinformation; and 

Whereas ensuring transparency in electoral preparations and 

building public confidence in the electoral process is vital 

to the success of the upcoming elections in Nigeria: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 
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1 (1) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

2 States to supporting peace and democracy in Nige3 ria; 

4 (2) calls on the Government of Nigeria and all 

5 Nigerian political parties and actors to— 

6 (A) take actions to facilitate credible, 

7 transparent , and peaceful elections that reflect 

8 the will of the people and advance the consoli9 dation of democracy and the stability of the 

10 broader region; 

11 (B) condemn in the strongest terms the 

12 use of speech that incites violence, and refrain 

13 from efforts to demonize or delegitimize oppo14 nents, sow division among Nigerians, or other15 wise inflame tensions; 

16 (C) seek to resolve any disputes over re17 sults peacefully, including through judicial proc18 esses as necessary; 

19 (D) respect the impartiality of the Inde20 pendent National Electoral Commission; and 

21 (E) take measures to combat vote buying; 

22 (3) calls on the Government of Nigeria to— 

23 (A) refrain from deploying security forces 

24 in a partisan manner; 
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1 (B) ensure that security services maintain 

2 the highest level of professionalism and impar3 tiality in facilitating the electoral process, en4 able accredited observers and journalists to per5 form their work, and protect the right of citi6 zens to exercise their votes freely; and 

7 (C) enforce laws against election malfea8 sance, including vote buying, and ensure equal 

9 and robust application of such laws through ap10 propriate mechanisms, including through the 

11 establishment of an Electoral Offenses Commis12 sion and Tribunal; 

13 (4) urges all Nigerians to fully and peacefully 

14 engage in the electoral process, insist on full enfran15 chisement, reject inflammatory or divisive rhetoric or 

16 actions, and seek to resolve any disputes over results 

17 through the legal system; 

18 (5) calls upon the Independent National Elec19 toral Commission to sustain confidence and trust in 

20 its management of the electoral process by taking ef21 fective measures to— 

22 (A) combat vote buying through voter edu23 cation campaigns; 

24 (B) institute a nationwide ban on cell 

25 phones in the voting cubicle; 
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1 (C) ensure the participation in the election 

2 of internally displaced persons (IDPs); and 

3 (D) clean the voter rolls and ensure timely 

4 production and distribution of the Permanent 

5 Voter Card to new voters; 

6 (6) encourages political parties in Nigeria to 

7 adhere to and enforce existing codes of conduct that 

8 commit parties to democratic electoral standards re9 garding campaign use of resources, engagement of 

10 voters, peaceful resolution of disputes, and accept11 ance of verified and credible results; 

12 (7) condemns any efforts on the part of any 

13 politicians or political parties in Nigeria to politicize 

14 the security and law enforcement agencies; 

15 (8) encourages civil society organizations in Ni16 geria to— 

17 (A) promote the peaceful participation of 

18 citizens in the electoral process and draw on ex19 isting inter-religious and peacebuilding bodies 

20 to enhance their efforts; 

21 (B) disseminate information about citizen22 based observation findings and analysis to in23 crease public knowledge and understanding 

24 about the conduct of the elections; and 
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1 (C) continue leading important early warn2 ing and response activities to mitigate election3 related violence, including monitoring efforts to 

4 incite violence or further inflame tensions; 

5 (9) supports efforts by the Department of State 

6 and the United States Agency for International De7 velopment (USAID) to assist elections preparations 

8 in Nigeria, including through programs focused on 

9 conflict mitigation; and 

10 (10) calls on the United States Government and 

11 other international partners, especially election-fo12 cused nongovernmental organizations, to— 

13 (A) continue to support efforts by the Gov14 ernment of Nigeria to address the remaining 

15 electoral preparation challenges and identify 

16 gaps in which additional resources or diplomatic 

17 engagement could make important contributions 

18 to the conduct of credible, transparent elections; 

19 and 

20 (B) support civil society organizations and 

21 media organizations working to enhance trans-
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1 parency and accountability in the use of state 

2 resources around the election period. 

Passed the Senate February 14, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 1 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Calling for credible, transparent, and safe elections 

in Nigeria, and for other purposes.