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2023: US restates sanctions against election offenders

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The United States Government has vowed to sanction politicians planning to interfere with the democratic processes or instigate violence in the 2023 general elections.

It also praised the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to employ the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and Electronic transmission of results.

Rolf Olson, the Political Counselor at the United States Embassy in Nigeria, spoke on behalf of the United States Government at the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association Annual Seminar 2022.

READ ALSO:All BVAS needed for 2023 polls ready by December – INEC

He noted that BVAS and the electronic transmission of vote results sheets were to ensure the integrity of Nigerian elections.

Olson maintained that the United States Government did not have a candidate in the upcoming elections.

“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. 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,” he said.

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