Calling for credible, transparent, and peaceful elections in Nigeria, and for other purposes.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 4 Calling for credible, transparent, and peaceful elections in Nigeria, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 16, 2019 Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. CHABOT) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Calling for credible, transparent, and peaceful 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 elections scheduled for Feb- ruary 16, 2019, and gubernatorial and National Assem- bly elections scheduled for March 2, 2019; Whereas credible elections could further consolidate demo- cratic gains achieved in Nigeria over the last two decades since the transition from military to civilian democratic rule; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HCON 4 IH Whereas a 2017 survey conducted by Afrobarometer found that 72 percent of Nigerians agreed that democratic elec- tions are the best means of choosing their country’s lead- ers, 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 contrib- uted to successful elections in 2015; Whereas successive elections in Nigeria have featured varying degrees of violence; Whereas there have been deeply concerning instances of in- citement to violence in Nigeria by members of both the ruling coalition and the opposition inciting supporters to ethnic violence as a means by which to gain electoral ad- vantage, 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 Ni- geria’s security agencies displayed partisanship and a lack of objectivity, which risks escalating tensions within the country; Whereas Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commis- sion (INEC) 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 ad- vancement of smart card reader technology; Whereas the statement of the September 2018 Joint National Democratic Institute/International Republican Institute Pre-Election Assessment Mission to Nigeria cited remain- VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HCON 4 IH ing 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 in- citement 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 in Nigeria: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), That Congress— 2 (1) reaffirms that the people of the United 3 States will continue to stand with the people of Ni- 4 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 speech that incites violence, and refrain 14 from any rhetoric or action that seeks to de- 15 monize or delegitimize opponents, sow division 16 among Nigerians, or otherwise inflame tensions; 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HCON 4 IH (C) seek to resolve any disputes over re- 1 sults peacefully, including through the legal sys- 2 tem as necessary; and 3 (D) respect the impartiality of the Inde- 4 pendent National Electoral Commission; 5 (3) calls on the Government of Nigeria to— 6 (A) refrain from deploying security forces 7 in a partisan manner; 8 (B) ensure that security services maintain 9 the highest level of professionalism and impar- 10 tiality in facilitating the electoral process, en- 11 able accredited observers and journalists to per- 12 form their work, and protect the right of citi- 13 zens to exercise their votes freely; 14 (C) move expeditiously to finalize the pro- 15 posed reforms to the legal framework for the 16 2019 elections; and 17 (D) enforce laws against election malfea- 18 sance, including vote buying, and ensure equal 19 and robust application through such measures 20 as the establishment of the Electoral Offenses 21 Commission and Tribunal; 22 (4) urges all Nigerians to fully and peacefully 23 engage in the electoral process, insist on full enfran- 24 chisement, reject inflammatory or divisive rhetoric or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HCON 4 IH actions, and seek to resolve any disputes over results 1 through the legal system; 2 (5) calls upon the Independent National Elec- 3 toral Commission to sustain confidence and trust in 4 its management of the electoral process by— 5 (A) taking concrete measures to combat 6 vote buying through voter education campaigns, 7 enforcement of laws against voter inducement, 8 and a nationwide ban on cell phones in the vot- 9 ing cubicle; 10 (B) releasing specimen ballots well in ad- 11 vance of Election Day so that civil society and 12 other electoral stakeholders can conduct suffi- 13 cient education to orient voters; 14 (C) making adequate arrangements to en- 15 sure the participation in the election of inter- 16 nally displaced persons (IDPs); and 17 (D) taking steps to clean the voter roll and 18 ensure timely production and distribution of the 19 Permanent Voter Card to new voters; 20 (6) encourages political parties in Nigeria to 21 adhere to and enforce existing codes of conduct that 22 commit parties to democratic electoral standards re- 23 garding campaign use of resources, engagement of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HCON 4 IH voters, peaceful resolution of disputes, and accept- 1 ance of verified and credible results; 2 (7) condemns any efforts on the part of any 3 politicians or political parties in Nigeria to politicize 4 the security and law enforcement agencies; 5 (8) encourages civil society organizations in Ni- 6 geria to— 7 (A) promote the peaceful participation of 8 citizens in the electoral process and draw on ex- 9 isting interreligious and peacebuilding bodies to 10 enhance their efforts; 11 (B) disseminate information about citizen- 12 based observation findings and analysis to in- 13 crease public knowledge and understanding 14 about the conduct of the elections; and 15 (C) continue leading important early warn- 16 ing and response mechanisms to mitigate elec- 17 tion-related violence, including monitoring all 18 efforts to incite violence or inflame tensions; 19 (9) supports efforts by the Department of 20 State, including the Bureau of Conflict and Sta- 21 bilization Operations, and the United States Agency 22 for International Development (USAID) to assist 23 election-related preparation in Nigeria, including 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HCON 4 IH through programs focused on conflict mitigation; 1 and 2 (10) calls on the United States Government and 3 other international partners, especially election-fo- 4 cused nongovernmental organizations, to— 5 (A) continue to support efforts by the Gov- 6 ernment of Nigeria to address the remaining 7 electoral preparation challenges and identify 8 gaps in which additional resources or diplomatic 9 engagement could make important contributions 10 to the conduct of the elections; and 11 (B) support civil society organizations and 12 media organizations working toward trans- 13 parency and accountability in the use of state 14 resources around the election period. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC4.IH HC4 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS