EU Denies Rejecting INEC Invitation to Observe 2027 General Elections

The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has dismissed reports that it rejected an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe the 2027 general elections.

The reports had claimed that the EU would not deploy an election observation mission for the polls, citing worsening insecurity in the country and alleged hostile treatment of its observers and officials following its 2023 election observation mission.

However, in a statement by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, on Monday, August 10, the EU Delegation described the reports as inaccurate and clarified that it had accepted INEC’s invitation, although it would deploy an Electoral Expert Mission (EEM) rather than a conventional election observation mission.

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The delegation said INEC formally invited it to deploy observers for the 2027 elections in a letter dated April 17, 2026, which it responded to on July 28.

According to the EU, its response informed INEC that it would field an EEM comprising between two and four independent experts who would be formally accredited as observers by the electoral commission.

“An EEM, like an Electoral Observation Mission, assesses whether the electoral process is conducted in line with international, regional and national obligations and commitments on the conduct of democratic elections to which the country has subscribed,” the EU said.

It added that the mission would produce a final report with recommendations on improving Nigeria’s electoral framework and future electoral processes.

“The EEM submits a final report with recommendations on how to improve the electoral framework and future electoral processes, the report will be shared with the government, and if they agree, it can also be released to the wider public,” the statement said.

The EU also rejected the reasons attributed to its decision in the earlier reports, saying neither worsening insecurity nor alleged hostile treatment of its officials featured in its correspondence with INEC.

“The two alleged reasons mentioned in the press reports do not appear in the letter: these are pure speculations,” the delegation said.

It explained that the EU makes annual decisions on the type of electoral missions to deploy to partner countries that extend invitations, based on the circumstances of each country and available resources.

“It is on this basis that the decision to conduct an EEM in Nigeria has been taken,” it said.

The delegation added that discussions with relevant Nigerian authorities would continue regarding the implementation of the mission.

The EU further said the decision would not affect its broader support for Nigeria’s democratic process, including the EU-funded “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria” project.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reacted to reports of the alleged EU pullback from observing the 2027 elections.

In a statement issued on Monday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary of its Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong, described the development as “another confirmation of the fears of both local and international stakeholders about the weaknesses and defects that may define the forthcoming general elections.”

The party accused the government of taking steps since 2023 to make the 2027 elections “uncontested in any meaningful sense.”

It alleged that the government had deployed “state-funded crises in opposition political parties, coercion and enticement of opposition Governors and National Legislators, persecution and intimidation of opposition bigwigs.”

The PDP also criticised what it called the “weaponisation of inflammatory electoral rhetoric,” citing the President’s declaration to “snatch it, take it and run with it” and the accompanying position that “all is fair in politics.”

The opposition party described the reported change in the EU’s election observation arrangement as one of several “votes of no confidence by strategic stakeholders in election management under this APC-led administration.”

“When confidence in the electoral process erodes, so does the credibility of elections and, ultimately, democracy itself,” the PDP said.

The party pledged to work with other opposition parties, civil society organisations and Nigerians to demand transparency, accountability and sincerity throughout the electoral process.

“This is the irreducible minimum,” it said.

The EU, meanwhile, urged members of the media to verify reports concerning its positions directly with its press and communication office to avoid publishing what it described as misleading information.