Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Nigeria will hold presidential and National Assembly elections on 14 February 2015. These will be followed on 28 February by gubernatorial and state assembly elections. We are following developments in Nigeria closely through our embassy in Abuja. I understand that political associations in Nigeria are constitutionally prohibited from functioning as political parties unless they are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. There are strict criteria for registration laid down in a guidelines document issued by the chairman of the commission in March last year.

I am aware of the decision of the electoral commission to reject an application from the Socialist Party of Nigeria for registration as a political party. This matter is now the subject of proceedings in the Nigerian Federal High Court in Abuja. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specific case. However, as a general point of principle, I have no hesitation in calling for the forthcoming elections in Nigeria to be as inclusive as possible. It is important that they are conducted peacefully, transparently and credibly. The challenge, but also the importance of this, is underlined by the deteriorating security situation in the north east of the country and the violence being perpetrated by the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

I welcome that in September the EU committed €15 million to support Nigeria in preparing for these elections, which involve in excess of 70 million registered voters and 150,000 polling stations. I also welcome the decision of the EU to deploy an electoral monitoring mission to monitor the elections. We have nominated a number of Irish observers for appointment to the mission.

See this speech in context