III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 36 

Reinforcing the United States-Nigeria relationship and urging the Government 

of Nigeria to conduct free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections in 2023. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. RISCH) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reinforcing the United States-Nigeria relationship and urging the Government of Nigeria to conduct free, fair, 

transparent, and inclusive elections in 2023. 

Whereas Nigeria is the most populous democracy in Africa; 

Whereas Nigeria remains one of the United States closest 

partners in Africa, with billions of dollars of United 

States aid and investment per year going towards key 

areas of governance, health, education, energy, and finance, and democracy in Nigeria continues to be a strategic priority; 

Whereas Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and plays 

an essential role in the economic growth and development 

of West Africa and continent-wide; 


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Whereas the United States-Nigeria trade relationship, supported by the African Growth and Opportunity Act 

(AGOA) (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) and foreign direct investment, further connects our two countries’ economies; 

Whereas Nigeria’s leadership in the Economic Community of 

West African States (ECOWAS) underscores Nigeria’s 

position on upholding democracy and adherence to transfer of power through constitutional means; 

Whereas the 2023 electoral process in Nigeria is scheduled to 

include a presidential election, 28 governor elections, 469 

Federal lawmaker elections, and 36 State House of Assembly elections that may test the very foundation of democracy in Nigeria; 

Whereas the United States supports peaceful, credible elections in Nigeria in keeping with the democratic aspirations of the Nigerian people; 

Whereas the United States, through key multilateral and 

nongovernmental international organizations, has provided support to increase voter participation, access, education, and safety in elections since Nigeria’s transition 

to multi-party democracy in 1999; 

Whereas the 2019 Nigerian presidential and state-level elections were marred by election-related violence, lastminute delays, widespread vote buying, and 

disinformation, and had the lowest voter turnout in a 

presidential election since the return to civilian rule in 

1999; 

Whereas, after the 2019 elections, Nigerian citizens made a 

resounding call for electoral reforms to address violence, 

corruption, and political party conduct within the country’s political system; 


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Whereas, over numerous election cycles, Nigerian civil society 

has developed significant capacities to impartially observe 

elections, conduct civic and voter education programs, 

and hold government officials accountable to democratic 

values; 

Whereas the 2019 international election observation report 

published by the National Democratic Institute and the 

International Republican Institute noted that ‘‘political 

parties remain the weakest link among Nigeria’s nascent 

democratic institutions,’’ a sentiment shared by other citizen and international election observation missions, and 

emphasized the need for political party reforms to promote stronger internal democracy mechanisms, the further inclusion of women and young people in the political 

process, and the adherence to election codes of conduct 

and the legal framework by political parties; 

Whereas despite the low voter turnout in the 2019 elections, 

a 2022 Afrobarometer poll indicated that 70 percent of 

Nigerians favor democracy over any other kind of government; 

Whereas, since 2019, Nigeria has taken integral steps to advance transparency and inclusion in elections, including 

through key provisions passed as part of the Electoral 

Act, 2022; 

Whereas the Electoral Act, 2022 calls for, among other 

things, an earlier release of election funding for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the electronic transmission of results, and the enfranchisement of 

voters with physical and mental disabilities; 

Whereas the people of Nigeria continue to advocate for 

stronger democratic values, governmental accountability, 


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and the full implementation of the Electoral Act, 2022 in 

advance of presidential elections in 2023; 

Whereas President Muhammadu Buhari has committed to a 

‘‘peaceful transfer of power to an elected democratic government’’ in 2023, and has pledged to ensure that ‘‘elections are conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner’’; and 

Whereas Nigeria continues to suffer from a multitude of security issues, including banditry, terrorism, ethnic violence, religious intolerance, and a lack of accountability 

for human rights abuses attributed to state security 

forces: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reiterates the United States commitment to 

3 democracy and good-governance in Nigeria and un4 derscores the support of the United States for all 

5 people of Nigeria to be able to participate in free, 

6 inclusive, and fair elections; 

7 (2) commends the Government of Nigeria on 

8 the passage of the Electoral Act, 2022, which sig9 nals the intent of the Government of Nigeria to 

10 strengthen its administration of elections, and em11 phasizes the need for fair and transparent electoral 

12 processes; 

13 (3) applauds the work of the many Nigerian 

14 civil society organizations that continually work to 

15 advocate for and support the implementation of key 

16 election reforms, bolster civic education, demand acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Feb 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR36.IS SR36

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1 countability for actions of the government and secu2 rity personnel, and embolden women and youth par3 ticipation in politics; 

4 (4) encourages all Nigerians to exercise their 

5 right to vote and to refrain from all acts of electoral 

6 violence, voter malfeasance, vote buying and selling, 

7 inflammatory speech and disinformation, and any 

8 other actions that undermine free and fair elections 

9 in Nigeria; 

10 (5) condemns violence perpetrated by Boko 

11 Haram, ISWAP, and numerous other insurgent and 

12 bandit groups that has impacted millions of Nige13 rians and displaced hundreds of thousands in neigh14 boring Chad, Niger, and Cameroon; 

15 (6) calls on the Government of Nigeria to fully 

16 implement the various reforms included in the Elec17 toral Act, 2022, and to— 

18 (A) fund INEC to its fullest capacity to 

19 independently administer free, fair, and credible 

20 elections; 

21 (B) ensure that Nigerian citizens can safe22 ly vote in elections, free of voter intimidation 

23 and violence perpetrated by security forces, 

24 bandits, paid political disruptors, and armed in25 surgents; 


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1 (C) remain independent from political in2 terference by candidates, appointed or elected 

3 officials, political parties, and state security 

4 forces; 

5 (D) work with INEC to ensure that elec6 tions are held as scheduled; 

7 (E) partner with civil society organizations, 

8 the United States Department of State, and the 

9 United States Agency for International Devel10 opment on programs that promote and fund 

11 good-governance, civic education, and voter ac12 cess; 

13 (F) work meaningfully to reduce domestic 

14 tensions within Nigeria; and 

15 (G) support effective sub-national elections 

16 through State Independent Electoral Commis17 sions; 

18 (7) urges INEC to— 

19 (A) ensure equitable access for voter reg20 istration, the distribution of Permanent Voter 

21 Cards (PVCs) and voter rolls, and ensure that 

22 the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System 

23 (BVAS) accurately allows for only one vote per 

24 person; 


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1 (B) maintain and publicly share accurate 

2 pre- and post-election voter turnout data; 

3 (C) hold candidates, elected officials, and 

4 political parties accountable for electoral law 

5 violations, and take steps to prosecute all those 

6 who engage in voter intimidation, vote buying, 

7 and all other forms of electoral malfeasance; 

8 (D) coordinate with civil society groups 

9 that help advance voter education, voter reg10 istration, and election observation; 

11 (E) minimize bureaucratic hurdles for ac12 creditation of citizen and international observ13 ers and ensure they have unfettered access to 

14 all aspects of the electoral process; and 

15 (F) work with the United Nations and the 

16 international community to enfranchise millions 

17 of Nigerian citizens that have become internally 

18 displaced due to violent conflict; 

19 (8) urges political parties in Nigeria to under20 take reforms that reinforce democratic values and 

21 good-governance, including by— 

22 (A) holding candidates, elected officials, 

23 and party operators accountable for efforts to 

24 interfere with elections, including vote buying, 

25 voter intimidation, and electoral violence; 


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1 (B) addressing financial and other barriers 

2 that routinely block women and young people 

3 from participating or running for elected office; 

4 and 

5 (C) addressing electoral corruption, pa6 tronage, and clientelism; 

7 (9) calls upon the United States Government 

8 and the international community to continue to in9 vest in programs aimed at advancing voter edu10 cation, electoral security, conflict mitigation, elec11 toral dispute resolution, anti-corruption efforts, as 

12 well as the development of political parties in Nige13 ria, including— 

14 (A) funding pre- and post-election data col15 lection with the Government of Nigeria and 

16 INEC in accordance with the best election data 

17 maintenance and accessibility practices to en18 sure there is a free open source for post-election 

19 data that is transparent and permanently avail20 able to the public; 

21 (B) supporting the right of Nigerian citi22 zens to vote in elections that are free, fair, 

23 credible, and consistent with international 

24 democratic standards; 


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1 (C) promoting accountability for any indi2 vidual that seeks to use violence, intimidation, 

3 or corrupt electoral practices to undermine 

4 peaceful credible elections in Nigeria, including 

5 through consideration of targeted financial and 

6 travel sanctions; 

7 (D) enabling citizen and international ob8 servation initiatives unfettered access to observe 

9 and issue reports on the pre-election, election 

10 day, and post-election processes, including inde11 pendent verification of election results to the 

12 greatest extent possible; and 

13 (E) working alongside the Government of 

14 Nigeria to call out and address disinformation 

15 about the electoral process or from malign ex16 ternal actors; 

17 (10) calls on candidates running for the office 

18 of the president, governor, and Federal and state 

19 elected offices to publicly commit to peace and to 

20 pursue the resolution of election disputes through 

21 peaceful means; and 

22 (11) calls on the Secretary of State to pursue 

23 diplomatic engagement to encourage a peaceful and 

24 transparent electoral process in Nigeria in 2023, in25 cluding by coordinating efforts among various 


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1 United States Government agencies and depart2 ments to further good governance, strengthen demo3 cratic and electoral institutions in Nigeria, and pre4 vent intercommunal violence. 

Æ 


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