The 2019 General elections will be the most contested elections in the Nigeria since the transition to democracy in 1999. With 73 parties fielding candidates for the Presidential elections and the Senate and the House of Representatives having 1,904 and 4,680 respectively, the contest at both the Federal and State has gone beyond the influence of just the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to having more parties influence the political discourse at the National and State levels. This provides different dynamics to the elections when compared to previous elections with a pre-election environment that is driven by more diverse conversations and indicators to track. In the pre-election phase, YIAGA AFRICA a non-partisan Civil Society Organization currently has 822 Watching the Vote (WTV) long-term observers deployed in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) observing the pre-elections environment. For the 2019 Elections, the pre-election observation commenced from the 9th of November, 2018 and will last until the week of the Presidential Election in February 2019. This report is the fourth of six reports to be issued by the organization covering the period of 21st December 2018 to 10th January 2019, and it is based on reports received from all 774 Long Term Observers (LTOs) across the country. In this report, we present findings on the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), voter education and information activities, political campaign activities, inclusion of women, persons living with disabilities (PWDs) and youths, as well as issues relating to pre election violence.
