In the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct elections in 176,846 polling units for elections into the office of the President, Governors, National Assembly and State House of Assembly seats. Eighteen political parties nominated a total of 15,336 candidates for the one Presidential, 28 governorship elections, 469 legislative seats in the National Assembly and 993 legislative seats in the State Houses of Assembly.

Since Nigeria’s struggle for independence, young people have been at the front and center of political participation. The struggle for Nigeria’s independence as well as the successive military interventions and democratic republics have been filled with instances of youth participation.

Yiaga Africa’ Watching the Vote (WTV) is a citizen-led election observation initiative aimed at enhancing the integrity of elections in Nigeria Watching the Vote works to ensure that citizens understand what happens in the electoral process, the laws guiding the conduct of elections and how to engage the process with accurate information.

Our Objectives 

- To provide timely and accurate information about the election process to voters and stakeholders.

The 2023 Presidential election is about 12 weeks away but the glaring early warning signals and violations of the electoral legal framework are overwhelmingly petrifying that election stakeholders have continued to express concerns over the conduct of a peaceful and credible elections. The recent report credited to the Nigerian Army saying they were under pressure to manipulate the 2023 General elections may just be one out of the many risks, uncertainties and assumptions that has potential of undermining the process.