EU Delegation to Deploy Electoral Expert Mission for Nigeria’s 2027 General Election

The EU Delegation says it will deploy an Electoral Expert Mission, made up of two to four independent experts, to observe Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, contrary to media reports that it had rejected INEC’s invitation.

In a statement on Monday, the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS said it was surprised by inaccurate press reports claiming it had written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decline an invitation to observe Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

The reports also alleged that the decision was based on worsening insecurity and the hostile treatment of EU observers and officials after the release of its final report on the 2023 general election. The statement reads:

“The EU Delegation confirms that it received a formal invitation (not a request) from the INEC, dated 17 April 2026, to deploy observers for the 2027 General Elections. In its response dated 28 July 2026, this Delegation thanked the INEC for its kind invitation and informed that the EU will field an Electoral Expert Mission (EEM), composed of two to four independent experts, who will formally be accredited as observers with the INEC.

“As explained in the letter: “An EEM, like an Electoral Observation Mission, assesses whether the electoral process is conducted in line with international, regional and national obligations and commitments on the conduct of democratic elections to which the country has subscribed. The EEM submits a final report with recommendations on how to improve the electoral framework and future electoral processes; the report will be shared with the government, and if they agree, it can also be released to the wider public.

“The EU Delegation further underlines that the two alleged reasons mentioned in the press reports do not appear in the letter; these are pure speculations. The European Union decides every year on electoral missions to be sent to partner countries, issuing invitations to the EU and, if the decision is positive, the kind of mission to be sent to each of them, depending on individual situations and available resources.

“It is on this basis that the decision to conduct an EEM in Nigeria has been taken and will be further consulted with the relevant Nigerian authorities for its implementation. This decision does not affect in any way the continuation of the implementation of the EU-funded project “Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria”, including its dimension of support to the electoral process.

“The EU Delegation respectfully reminds members of the esteemed media community that, to avoid issuing such misleading information about positions or statements of the EU, they can simply check their accuracy with the press and communication office of the EU Delegation.”

The statement was signed by Gautier MIGNOT, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS.

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