Ethiopian Electoral Officials Visit INEC for Week-Long Study on Nigeria’s Election Management Innovations

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria on Monday welcomed a distinguished delegation from the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), accompanied by representatives from the Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organisations for Elections (CECOE), to its headquarters in Abuja. This marks a historic first where Nigeria hosts a joint delegation comprising both an electoral management body and a civil society coalition from another African nation.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, described the engagement as “extraordinary” and emphasized the significant opportunity for mutual learning and institutional collaboration. “In the past, our interactions were primarily with fellow electoral commissions; today, we are proud to host NEBE alongside CECOE, representing over 180 civil society groups dedicated to advancing credible elections across Ethiopia,” Yakubu said.

Highlighting the strong parallels between the two countries, Yakubu noted that both Nigeria and Ethiopia are Africa’s two most populous nations—home to over 220 million and 135 million people respectively—each characterized by diverse multi-ethnic societies and federal systems of governance. “Together, these two countries account for about a quarter of Africa’s total population,” he added.

The visiting Ethiopian officials, led by NEBE’s Deputy Chairman Tesfaye Neway and CECOE’s Executive Director Abera Hailemariam, are partaking in a comprehensive week-long study tour designed to delve into Nigeria’s electoral best practices. The program includes nine technical sessions covering strategic election planning, technological innovations in voter registration, mechanisms to ensure inclusivity for displaced persons and people with disabilities, candidate nomination processes, media and observer accreditation, as well as voter education strategies.

The visit aligns with Nigeria’s ongoing voter registration drive in the Federal Capital Territory ahead of the 2026 Area Council Elections, providing the Ethiopian delegation with a live demonstration of voter registration operations.

“We believe open exchange and shared experiences strengthen democratic institutions,” said Neway. “Nigeria’s strides in transparency, technology use, and multilingual voter education offer valuable lessons that we hope to adopt to tackle our own electoral challenges—such as electoral violence and misinformation.”

Abera Hailemariam underscored the pivotal role of civil society collaboration in enhancing voter awareness and public engagement in electoral processes. “Learning how Nigeria mobilizes diverse communities across many languages for voter education is particularly instructive for us,” he noted.

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This initiative, facilitated by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), symbolizes growing pan-African cooperation toward improving election integrity and democratic governance. Both INEC and NEBE share constitutional mandates that include election administration, political party registration and regulation, campaign finance monitoring, and accreditation of electoral observers—all crucial to ensuring credible elections.

Professor Yakubu expressed optimism that the exchange would foster deeper understanding and practical advancements, boosting democracy not only in Nigeria and Ethiopia but across the continent.