IRIAD-The Electoral Hub close of year statement
IRIAD-THE ELECTORAL HUB CLOSE OF YEAR STATEMENT
As the year 2020 comes to a close, the Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development (IRIAD) and the Electoral Hub congratulates Nigeria on its continued growth in meeting the challenge of democracy and development. The challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly made 2020 an unusual year in terms of socio-economic relationships and institutional development.
IRIAD-The Electoral Hub is pleased to report that within the context of the Covid- 19 challenge, it was able to track the successful conduct of two elections in 2020: the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states on the 19th of September and 10th October respectively. The successful conclusion of the elections is an indication of the versatility of the institutions of democracy in Nigeria.
Our research and production of technical papers aimed at different electoral stakeholders has also revealed their resilience. INEC released policies to aid the conduct of elections in the Covid-19 context, which political parties and civil society organizations were able to adapt into their activities during the year. This enabled them play their critical roles in Nigeria’s democratic growth. IRIAD expects that commitment to the growth of democracy in Nigeria will strengthen in 2021 and subsequent years.
IRIAD has also been able to carry out a project investigating women in politics and ways on how to improve their participation and enhance representation, with eye- opening interviews with stakeholders involved, the details of which are all available on our website.
The organization was also involved in shining more light on the issue of gender- based violence (GBV) by going to an IDP camp in a rural area to sensitize them on the causes and effect of GBV on individuals, and also distributing relief materials to them to commemorate the annual 16 days of activism. Overall, we would like to thank our partners, OSIWA, PWAN, and CDD, for their support, without which none of our activities would have been possible. IRIAD hopes that in subsequent years the world will adjust to promoting electoral integrity and credibility, challenging violence against women, promoting gender equality, and making every area safe enough to live in.
