IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 1 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 19, 2019 

Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Calling for credible, transparent, and safe elections in 

Nigeria, and for other purposes. 

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 


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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; 

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 


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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— 

3 (1) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

4 States to supporting peace and democracy in Nige5 ria; 

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

7 Nigerian political parties and actors to— 

8 (A) take actions to facilitate credible, 

9 transparent , and peaceful elections that reflect 

10 the will of the people and advance the consoli11 dation of democracy and the stability of the 

12 broader region; 

13 (B) condemn in the strongest terms the 

14 use of speech that incites violence, and refrain 

15 from efforts to demonize or delegitimize oppo16 nents, sow division among Nigerians, or other17 wise inflame tensions; 

18 (C) seek to resolve any disputes over re19 sults peacefully, including through judicial proc20 esses as necessary; 

21 (D) respect the impartiality of the Inde22 pendent National Electoral Commission; and 


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1 (E) take measures to combat vote buying; 

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

3 (A) refrain from deploying security forces 

4 in a partisan manner; 

5 (B) ensure that security services maintain 

6 the highest level of professionalism and impar7 tiality in facilitating the electoral process, en8 able accredited observers and journalists to per9 form their work, and protect the right of citi10 zens to exercise their votes freely; and 

11 (C) enforce laws against election malfea12 sance, including vote buying, and ensure equal 

13 and robust application of such laws through ap14 propriate mechanisms, including through the 

15 establishment of an Electoral Offenses Commis16 sion and Tribunal; 

17 (4) urges all Nigerians to fully and peacefully 

18 engage in the electoral process, insist on full enfran19 chisement, reject inflammatory or divisive rhetoric or 

20 actions, and seek to resolve any disputes over results 

21 through the legal system; 

22 (5) calls upon the Independent National Elec23 toral Commission to sustain confidence and trust in 

24 its management of the electoral process by taking ef25 fective measures to— 


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1 (A) combat vote buying through voter edu2 cation campaigns; 

3 (B) institute a nationwide ban on cell 

4 phones in the voting cubicle; 

5 (C) ensure the participation in the election 

6 of internally displaced persons (IDPs); and 

7 (D) clean the voter rolls and ensure timely 

8 production and distribution of the Permanent 

9 Voter Card to new voters; 

10 (6) encourages political parties in Nigeria to 

11 adhere to and enforce existing codes of conduct that 

12 commit parties to democratic electoral standards re13 garding campaign use of resources, engagement of 

14 voters, peaceful resolution of disputes, and accept15 ance of verified and credible results; 

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

17 politicians or political parties in Nigeria to politicize 

18 the security and law enforcement agencies; 

19 (8) encourages civil society organizations in Ni20 geria to— 

21 (A) promote the peaceful participation of 

22 citizens in the electoral process and draw on ex23 isting inter-religious and peacebuilding bodies 

24 to enhance their efforts; 


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1 (B) disseminate information about citizen2 based observation findings and analysis to in3 crease public knowledge and understanding 

4 about the conduct of the elections; and 

5 (C) continue leading important early warn6 ing and response activities to mitigate election7 related violence, including monitoring efforts to 

8 incite violence or further inflame tensions; 

9 (9) supports efforts by the Department of State 

10 and the United States Agency for International De11 velopment (USAID) to assist elections preparations 

12 in Nigeria, including through programs focused on 

13 conflict mitigation; and 

14 (10) calls on the United States Government and 

15 other international partners, especially election-fo16 cused nongovernmental organizations, to— 

17 (A) continue to support efforts by the Gov18 ernment of Nigeria to address the remaining 

19 electoral preparation challenges and identify 

20 gaps in which additional resources or diplomatic 

21 engagement could make important contributions 

22 to the conduct of credible, transparent elections; 

23 and 

24 (B) support civil society organizations and 

25 media organizations working to enhance transVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:06 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC1.RFH SC1

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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: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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