The Electoral Act should be amended to include more detailed regulations prohibiting the abuse of state resources during an election period.

Regulations should be developed by the legislature to provide proportional access to radio and television for Parties and Candidates competing in elections, not only stipulating fair and equitable coverage, but also providing a framework where these provisions are guaranteed. In cases where candidates and parties purchase airtime for their advertisements and coverage of their rallies these programmes should be clearly signposted as such.

The NBC should ensure publicly funded media distribute an equal allocation of free airtime to Parties and Candidates competing in an election in order to ensure equity of coverage for all.

NBC’s structure should be modified in order to foster its institutional, functional and financial independence. NBC should have sufficient resources to be able to guarantee that the media cover elections according to the principles of fairness, balance and impartiality.

State-owned media should be given greater editorial independence. This could be facilitated through the concept of public service broadcasting, the introduction of which is strongly recommended to guarantee principles of public interest and editorial integrity. At minimum, the appointment of managerial staff at federal and state broadcasters should be reviewed so as to create independence from the government in power.

The Freedom of Information Bill should be adopted and duly implemented to provide a higher degree of transparency and accountability of public sector.

The right of domestic observers to observe the entire election process should be guaranteed by law.

Civil society organisations should further improve their capacity to observe the entire electoral process. International support should be directed towards strengthening civil society, particularly with respect to lobbying and advocacy activities.

INEC should ensure that the Manual for Election Officials should be available in each polling station and followed closely.

INEC should ensure that voting booths are distributed in sufficient time to all polling stations and all polling staff are trained to erect them and fully implement all procedures designed to ensure secrecy of the vote.

The Electoral Act 2006 should be amended to ensure the voting rights of all disabled and institutionalised people including those in hospital as well as soldiers, security personnel and prisoners.

The Electoral Act should be amended to ensure secrecy of the vote for tendered ballots.

The Electoral Act should be amended to specifically indicate where a complaint must be lodged in the first instance and in what circumstances a complaint may be submitted directly to INEC. Clear information should be provided to the public about the process and, in particular about how to make a complaint or appeal effectively.

Particular attention should be paid to establishing and enforcing appropriate mechanisms for appeals against decisions related to inaccuracies in the voter register, the refusal of nomination of candidacy and the de-certification of candidates before and after an election.

Civil penalties and administrative actions should be applied by INEC against those who have not complied with the electoral legislation.

All election related disputes should be determined before the assumption of office of those elected. Consideration should therefore be given to amending the Constitution in order to provide a more realistic timeframe between the date of the election and the inauguration into office.

The Electoral Act should be amended to allow voters, domestic observers or other election stakeholders to file election petitions.

Federal and state authorities should take concrete steps to implement commitments in favour of increased participation of women in public life with respect to the 2000 National Policy on Women which seeks 30 per cent of women in all levels of government. As a first step, the authorities should introduce into the national legal framework the provisions of CEDAW.

Political parties should establish effective policies to facilitate participation by female candidates in all elections. International support should be directed towards such efforts.

Election stakeholders should engage in a renewed discussion and review of the electoral system in order to identify the best option for electing women and minorities.

A balance should be struck between ensuring an elected official is ultimately responsible to the people, and to his/her role as a member of a political party. In order to avoid the dangers of corruption and vote buying in floor crossing, while at the same time acknowledging an elected official’s freedom of conscience, it may be useful to consider recognising an elected official who leaves a party as an independent for the remainder of his/her term.

Political parties should provide improved training to party agents to ensure that they play an increased oversight role and add to the transparency of the process.

Guidelines for the conduct of Police Officers on electoral duty should be expanded and included within a general permanent Code of Conduct for Police. Human Rights should be included in the training curriculum of police and INEC should give active and extensive support to the training of security forces about their role in the conduct of credible elections.

In compliance with the Millennium Development Goals, the 2006 National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nigeria and Chapter II of the Constitution of Nigeria on Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, the authorities at federal and state levels should take decisive action to tackle issues of poverty, illiteracy and lack of access to basic needs, including education. These are essential in order to improve the conduct of elections and facilitate the full participation of women and minorities in the economic, political and public life of Nigeria.

The appointment of the Election Commission members should be done in a pluralistic and inclusive manner; consideration should be given to candidates’ merit and experience. Members of this commission could still be nominated by political parties and movements; however they should be encouraged to act independently in their functions.