The European Union has rejected reports that it turned down an invitation from Nigeria’s electoral commission to observe the 2027 general elections, describing the claims as inaccurate and speculative.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, said the bloc received the invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in April and responded by confirming plans to deploy an Electoral Expert Mission for the poll.
Mignot said the planned mission would consist of between two and four independent observers, rather than a larger election observation team.
His clarification followed reports suggesting that the EU was withdrawing from Nigeria’s 2027 election monitoring process after about two decades of involvement. Some reports linked the decision to security concerns and alleged hostile treatment of EU officials following the 2023 elections.
The ambassador, however, said the EU’s decision on the size and nature of its election mission was based on the circumstances of each country and the resources available to the bloc.
He explained that the EU reviews requests from partner countries annually before deciding whether to deploy an electoral mission and determining the appropriate type of mission for each election.
Mignot also rejected the specific reasons reportedly given for the decision to send a smaller team, stressing that the alleged explanations did not appear in the EU’s response to INEC and were therefore speculative.
The ambassador added that the decision would not affect the EU’s wider support for democratic governance and Nigeria’s electoral process. He said the bloc would continue implementing its EU-funded Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria project.
The clarification means the EU is not withdrawing from Nigeria’s 2027 electoral process, although its planned Electoral Expert Mission will be considerably smaller than a full-scale observation mission.
