Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has arrived in Nigeria to oversee the country’s general election slated for February 25, 2023.
Uhuru is in the country in his capacity as the head of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM).
The African Union (AU) appointed Uhuru to lead the team of 90 members drawn from various AU Member States last week. The mission comprises representatives of Election Management Bodies, civil society organisations, independent experts, women and youth.
The team also includes members from AU organs, notably, the Pan African Parliament and Permanent Representatives Committee.
The mission draws its mandate from various AU instruments and will be supported by experts from the African Union Commission (AUC).
According to AU, the objectives of the missions are to provide an accurate and impartial assessment of the electoral process, including the degree to which the conduct of the elections meets regional, continental and international standards for democratic elections; offer recommendations for improvement of future elections based on the findings; and demonstrate AU’s solidarity and support towards consolidation of democracy, peace, stability and development in Nigeria.
During the polling period, AUEOM is expected to engage with various stakeholders as well as observe the polling process and based on the findings issue its preliminary statement on the electoral process in Abuja on February 27, 2023.
Nigerians will go to the poll to elect the President and Vice President and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Uhuru retired in October last year after a 10-year term in office.
This is the second major assignment he will undertake after his appointment by President William Ruto to head peace talks in the East Africa Community (EAC) region last year.
