[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 29 (Thursday, February 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 191. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Risch)) 
proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 1, 
calling for credible, transparent, and safe elections in Nigeria, and 
for other purposes; as follows:

       Strike the preamble and insert the following:
       Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States 
     to maintain a strong bilateral relationship with a 
     politically stable, democratic, and economically sound 
     Nigeria that can play a leadership role in the region and the 
     continent more broadly;
       Whereas Nigeria has presidential and National Assembly 
     elections scheduled for February 16, 2019, and gubernatorial 
     and state-level elections scheduled for March 2, 2019;
       Whereas credible, transparent, and peaceful elections could 
     further consolidate democratic gains achieved in Nigeria 
     since the transition from military to civilian democratic 
     rule;
       Whereas a 2017 survey conducted by Afrobarometer found that 
     the overwhelming majority of Nigerians agreed that democratic 
     elections are the best means of choosing their country's 
     leaders, thus indicating that the country's citizens are 
     deeply committed to democracy;
       Whereas collaboration between civil society actors and the 
     international community was a key factor that contributed to 
     successful elections in 2015;
       Whereas successive elections in Nigeria have featured 
     varying degrees of violence;
       Whereas both the ruling coalition and opposition parties 
     have incited ethnic violence in an apparent effort to gain 
     electoral advantage, intimidate electoral rivals, and 
     suppress voter turnout;
       Whereas, during the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections 
     in July 2018 and September 2018, respectively, there were 
     concerning incidents in which some elements of Nigeria's 
     security agencies displayed partisanship and a lack of 
     objectivity, which risks escalating tensions within the 
     country;
       Whereas Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission 
     (INEC) has taken important steps to improve electoral 
     processes, notably through the introduction of continuous 
     voter registration, the adoption of simultaneous 
     accreditation and voting, improvements to the secrecy of the 
     ballot, and the advancement of smart card reader technology;
       Whereas remaining challenges to the conduct of credible, 
     transparent, and peaceful elections in Nigeria include the 
     failure to enact additional, critical reforms to the legal 
     framework for elections, instances of vote buying, reported 
     security threats in the Middle Belt and North East, 
     incitement, and disinformation; and
       Whereas ensuring transparency in electoral preparations and 
     building public confidence in the electoral process is vital 
     to the success of the upcoming elections in Nigeria: Now, 
     therefore, be it

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