Nigeria—EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN) Programme, Phase II

Nigeria has significant security challenges and is confronted with instability and conflict on several fronts. The general elections in 2023 and upcoming in 2027 present a chance to improve the democratic process.

The Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN) Programme, Phase II, works to facilitate a peaceful and fair electoral process that advances the country’s political and economic development.

DAI leads activities under Component 1—Support to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)—which works to enhance the credibility of the elections and boost citizen participation across the country. Under the supervision of the EU Delegation, DAI also supports monitoring and evaluation and leads visibility activities.

Sample Activities

• Improve electoral administration in Nigeria through support to INEC, State Independent Electoral Commissions, and other stakeholders.
• Strengthen legislative and judicial reform capacities in compliance with democratic principles and standards.
• Empower media, including new media, to promote fair and ethical coverage of the electoral process and combat hate speech and disinformation; and strengthen the capacity of media regulators.
• Enhance media engagements and delivery of civic and voter education.
• Strengthen legal reforms and other initiatives for the inclusion of women, youth, and marginalized groups, including minorities, in politics, political parties, and in political leadership and decision-making positions.

Select Results

• Led an innovative voter education initiative on the electoral process, including the incorporation of pop culture and music artists at the Youth Votes Count concert, which led to 25,000 young people registering for permanent voter cards in the 2023 general election.
• Enhanced existing and developed new digital solutions for election management and monitoring, including a robust interface between the web-based and mobile version of the INEC Portal for the Recruitment of Election Staff; a mobile and web application to more efficiently identify and recruit Collation and Returning Officers; the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) Dashboard; the Elections Results Management System; the Parties Financial Reporting and Auditing System; and the Virtual Elections Training System.
• Built the capacity of more than 12,000 INEC staff to lead election processes. This training included 10,750 Registration Area Technical Staff, 111 EMSC desk officers, and other EMSC implementers; staff of the Political Party Monitoring Unit, as well as the Media Monitoring Unit for the 2023 general elections; 133 INEC staff in Ondo State, who trained on election administration and management ahead of the November 2024 off-cycle elections in the state; 350 INEC staff who learned to use updated EMSC tools ahead of Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa off-cycle elections; and 330 staff trained ahead of the 2024 Edo elections.
• Supported policy measures to enhance the electoral legal framework, including papers on cleaning up the voter register and a study on the use of polling voter cards.
• Initiated collection of GPS coordinates for all polling stations in Nigeria (nearly 175,000 locations), which is important to election planning, voter access, and election monitoring. Began work on an interactive map to help the general public locate election sites.
• Trained 300 judges of the Court of Appeal and Judges (members) of the Election Petition Tribunal on how to address potentially conflicting judgments in electoral litigation.
• Mobilized more than 1,800 people with disabilities to vote and be a part of the electoral process.