The United States Government has said it has no preferred candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
The Political Counselor at the American Embassy in Nigeria, Rolf Olson, made this known on Thursday at the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association Annual Seminar 2022 in Abuja.
The diplomat also disclosed that the US would not support any political party or interfere in the forthcoming elections that will be conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He expressed the support of the American government for the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results for the election by INEC.
Olson affirmed that the BVAS and the electronic transmission of vote results sheets were to ensure the integrity of the 2023 election, condemning the criticisms directed at INEC and its officials in recent months.
He said, “The United States does not support any individual candidate or party in this election cycle (or for that matter, in any other upcoming election). Our interest is in supporting credible and transparent elections that reflect the will of Nigerian voters, in a process that is conducted peacefully. Full stop.’’
This comes after a video made the rounds of the moment the broadcast station owned by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, TVC ran a documentary on visits by the Chinese, US and British Envoys to the politician in his home.
An excerpt of the documentary read: “Foreign governments warmly embrace Tinubu as the Chinese Ambassador, British High Commissioner USA Delegates and Israeli Ambassador pays homage visits to the incoming president of the federal republic of Nigeria ( Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ) in Abuja as if the results of the election has been announced. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi in dilemma over staying in an increasingly hopeless Presidential race or throw in the towel.”
The video:
Olson said the US government would impose sanctions, including visa restrictions on anyone who interferes with the democratic process or instigates violence in the 2023 general election.
He advised political parties, candidates, and their supporters to avoid language capable of undermining the success of the 2023 elections.
He warned: “Individuals seeking to undermine the democratic process, including through violence, may be found ineligible for visas to the United States. We have imposed visa restrictions in the past against those responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process, and remain fully willing to do so again in the context of the upcoming elections.”
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US Insists It Has No Preferred Candidate in Nigeria’s Elections (video)
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