IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1170 

Urging the Government of Nigeria and Nigeria’s political parties to ensure 

electoral accountability and work toward holding credible, peaceful, and 

transparent elections in February 2019. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2018 

Ms. BASS (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Mr. CHABOT) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Nigeria and Nigeria’s political 

parties to ensure electoral accountability and work toward holding credible, peaceful, and transparent elections 

in February 2019. 

Whereas it is in the best 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 elections scheduled for February 16, 2019, and Gubernatorial and National Assembly elections scheduled for March 2, 2019; 


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•HRES 1170 IH 

Whereas credible elections could further consolidate democratic gains achieved over the last two decades since the 

transition from military to civilian democratic rule; 

Whereas a 2017 survey conducted by Afrobarometer found 

that 72 percent 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; 

Whereas there have been deeply concerning instances of hate 

speech by members of both the ruling coalition and the 

opposition inciting supporters to ethnic violence as a 

means by which to gain electoral advantage, intimidate 

electoral rivals, or 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 has improved the voting process, 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; 


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•HRES 1170 IH 

Whereas the statement of the September 2018 Joint National 

Democratic Institute/International Republican Institute 

Pre-Election Assessment Mission to Nigeria cited remaining challenges and concerns such as delays in finalizing 

the legal framework for the elections, delayed release of 

funds for the elections, security threats in the Middle 

Belt and North East, instances of vote buying, and incitement to violence and disinformation; and 

Whereas ensuring transparency in electoral preparations and 

building public confidence in the electoral process is vital 

for the success of the upcoming elections: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms that the people of the United 

3 States will continue to stand with the people of Ni4 geria in support of peace and democracy; 

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

6 political parties and actors to— 

7 (A) take actions to facilitate elections that 

8 are credible, transparent, and peaceful in order 

9 to support the will of the people and advance 

10 the consolidation of democracy and the stability 

11 of the broader region; 

12 (B) condemn in the strongest terms the 

13 use of hate speech and incitement to violence, 

14 and refrain from any rhetoric or action that 

15 seeks to demonize or delegitimize opponents, 


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•HRES 1170 IH 

1 sow division among Nigerians, or otherwise in2 flame tensions; 

3 (C) seek to resolve any disputes over re4 sults peacefully, including through the legal sys5 tem as necessary; and 

6 (D) respect the impartiality of the Inde7 pendent National Electoral Commission; 

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

9 (A) refrain from deploying security forces 

10 in a partisan manner; 

11 (B) ensure that security services maintain 

12 the highest level of professionalism and impar13 tiality in facilitating the electoral process, ena14 bling accredited observers and journalists to 

15 perform their work, and protecting the right of 

16 citizens to exercise their votes freely; 

17 (C) move expeditiously to finalize the pro18 posed reforms to the legal framework for elec19 tions and to ensure the disbursement of req20 uisite funds for the 2019 elections; and 

21 (D) enforce laws against election malfea22 sance, including vote buying, and ensure equal 

23 and robust application through such measures 

24 as the establishment of the Electoral Offenses 

25 Commission and Tribunal; 


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1 (4) urges all Nigerians to fully and peacefully 

2 engage in the electoral process, insist on full enfran3 chisement, reject inflammatory or divisive rhetoric or 

4 actions, and seek to resolve any disputes over results 

5 through the legal system; 

6 (5) calls upon the Independent National Elec7 toral Commission to sustain confidence and trust in 

8 its management of the electoral process by— 

9 (A) taking concrete measures to combat 

10 vote buying through voter education campaigns, 

11 enforcement of laws against voter inducement, 

12 and a nationwide ban on cell phones in the vot13 ing cubicle; 

14 (B) releasing specimen ballots well in ad15 vance of election day so that civil society and 

16 other electoral stakeholders can conduct suffi17 cient education to orient voters; 

18 (C) making adequate arrangements to en19 sure the participation in the election of inter20 nally displaced persons; and 

21 (D) taking steps to clean the voters’ roll 

22 and ensure timely production and distribution 

23 of the Permanent Voter Card to new voters; 

24 (6) encourages political parties in Nigeria to 

25 adhere to and enforce existing codes of conduct that 


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1 commit parties to democratic electoral standards re2 garding campaign use of resources, engagement of 

3 voters, peaceful resolution of disputes, and accept4 ance of verified and credible results; 

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

6 politicians or political parties in Nigeria to politicize 

7 the security and law enforcement agencies; 

8 (8) encourages civil society organizations in Ni9 geria to— 

10 (A) promote the peaceful participation of 

11 citizens in the electoral process and draw on ex12 isting interreligious and peacebuilding bodies to 

13 enhance their efforts; 

14 (B) disseminate information about citizen15 based observation findings and analysis to in16 crease public knowledge and understanding 

17 about the conduct of the elections; and 

18 (C) continue leading important early warn19 ing and response mechanisms to mitigate elec20 tion-related violence, including through efforts 

21 to monitor hate speech and other forms of in22 citement, and further strengthen democratic 

23 processes; 

24 (9) supports efforts by the Department of 

25 State, including the Bureau of Conflict and StaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Dec 06, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1170.IH HR1170

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•HRES 1170 IH 

1 bilization Operations, and the United States Agency 

2 for International Development to assist election-re3 lated preparation in Nigeria, including through pro4 grams focused on conflict mitigation; and 

5 (10) calls on the United States and other inter6 national partners, especially election-focused non7 governmental organizations, to— 

8 (A) continue to support Nigeria’s efforts to 

9 address the remaining electoral preparation 

10 challenges and identify gaps in which additional 

11 resources or diplomatic engagement could make 

12 important contributions to the conduct of the 

13 elections; and 

14 (B) support civil society organizations and 

15 media organizations working toward trans16 parency and accountability in the use of state 

17 resources around the election period. 

Æ 


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