Kofi Annan Foundation endorses Nigeria’s National Peace Accord ahead of elections

Alan Doss, President of the Kofi Annan Foundation, at the signing of the National Peace Accord

As Nigerians elect their president on 16 February 2019, the National Peace Accord, through which all the presidential candidates have committed to peaceful and legitimate methods, is of utmost importance. The Kofi Annan Foundation welcomes this initiative of the National Peace Committee.

The Foundation urges all signatories to adhere to its key tenets, including the acceptance of results.

“The manner in which these elections unfold will determine the fate of the country for years to come and have implications for the rest of the continent”, says Alan Doss, President of the Kofi Annan Foundation. “Peaceful elections, perceived as legitimate by the electorate, will strengthen the coming administration’s ability to govern effectively at a time when Nigeria faces many challenges.”

The Kofi Annan Foundation helped broker the 2015 Abuja Accords and has again supported the signing of the National Peace Accord in 2019, fulfilling a commitment made by Kofi Annan to the National Peace Committee before his passing. The Foundation works to safeguard peace and democracy by advancing elections with integrity worldwide.

The Kofi Annan Foundation wishes to thank the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for its support.

For interview requests, please write to media@kofiannanfoundation.org.

Elections have become almost universal since the end of the Cold War. Yet in many countries where elections are held, freedom and democracy are actually in retreat. Intended as mechanisms for the peaceful arbitration of political rivalries, they frequently become flashpoints for political violence. At the core of these paradoxes are elections without integrity. All too often, elections serve merely to give autocratic regimes a veneer of legitimacy. But elections without integrity cannot provide the winners with legitimacy, the losers with security and the public with confidence in their leaders and institutions. This makes polities fragile as it encourages disgruntled groups to find other, less constructive, channels for the expression of their discontent. The Kofi Annan Foundation and Electoral Integrity Initiative advise countries on how to strengthen the integrity and legitimacy of their electoral processes and avoid election-related violence. Looking beyond technical requirements, they focus on creating conditions for legitimate elections, making it possible to govern peaceably in a climate of trust.

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Kofi Annan Foundation endorses Nigeria’s National Peace Accord ahead of elections

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