Pro-democracy Groups Push For Credible, Inclusive Elections

Pro-democracy groups: Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) have called for the entrenchment of credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria to her deepen democracy.

The groups advocated the implementation of recommendations from the Civic Space, Poverty & Election (CISPEN) Projected they executed with the support of MacArthur Foundation.

The CISPEN project provided a platform that enabled collective reflection, policy engagement, and consensus-building on how Nigeria can chart a path toward a more credible, inclusive, and democratic future.

Outputs from the project unveiled recently, among others sought the creation of an independent panel to oversee the appointment of leadership in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the director of programmes at WRAPA Yemisi Nathaniel and Director of strategy, Centre LSD, Itia Otabor, stressed the important links between civic space, poverty, and elections in Nigeria and in the immediate, the 2027 general election.
They said while Nigeria’s uninterrupted democratic civil rule characterised by positive milestones is celebrated, there is an urgent need to check the downsides which are capable of causing serious setbacks to the journey.

According to them, though periodic elections are now a permanent feature, the substance of the country’s democracy continues to be tested by the three deeply interwoven factors: shrinking civic space, entrenched poverty and weak electoral trust.

“With the wide contributions of Nigerians, the CISPEN Project has interrogated the three issues through evidence gathering, high-level dialogues, and coalition-building. Its outcome were collated and documented in a two Policy Briefs and a Memorandum for Constitutional Alteration.

The three documents with proposed practical reforms that are urgent and achievable, were presented to the public on 19th August, 2025.

“The CISPEN Project partners, WRAPA and Centre LSD are committed to ensuring that these recommendations do not remain words on paper but are transformed into concrete reforms. The next steps to achieving deepened awareness and mobilization of Nigerians. To that end, WRAPA and Centre LSD will
massively distribute the recommendations in these documents through the media, stakeholder forums, and civic campaigns to embed them in public discourse….

“The CISPEN Project has highlighted a central truth: Democracy cannot thrive in Nigeria without civic freedoms, empowered citizens free from poverty, and credible electoral institutions.
WRAPA and Centre LSD therefore call on:

“The Executive and Legislature to urgently include the recommendations in the Policy Briefs and Memorundum in the ongoing Constitutional and Legislative reforms. The Judiciary to uphold its role as the guardian and protector of democracy and the rights of citizen to speak and demand accountability of its elected leaders.

“INEC to courageously embrace neutrality, openness, and institutional operational and oversight reforms. Civil Society and the Media to remain vigilant in educating, mobilizing, and holding leaders accountable…,” they stated.

In her remarks, Secretary General of WRAPA, Saudatu Mahdi insisted that all Nigerians should have the opportunity to participate and partake in the decisions within political space and nobody be exclude from the decision-making processes even if they fall within the vulnerable groups.