2015 Election Will Be Better Than 2011 - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has given a
firm commitment to the international
community that the 2015 elections will be
freer and fairer than the 2011 general
elections.
Speaking at a reception for the diplomatic corps in
Nigeria, President Jonathan called for international
support for the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to realize the goal of surpassing
the benchmark attained in 2011.
The cocktail reception on the lawns of the
Presidential Villa in Abuja, is an annual ritual during
which the president interacts with the diplomatic
corps in Nigeria.
The president used the occasion to intimate the
diplomats on preparations towards the 2015
general elections and to assure them on his
determination to set a benchmark for free and fair
elections.
"The general elections will take place early next
year but the processes that will lead to the
elections will commence this year. Parties will
select their candidates through primaries this year,
campaigns will commence this year, so this year
will be full of activities. And I know that there is
some apprehension with the elections.
"Let me reassure you that the general election that
will come up next year will be better than the
elections you witnessed in 2011. As we progress
into the year, some of these tensions will come
down.
"At the beginning of the electoral processes in most
countries, especially developing nations, tensions
use to be quite high even in developed countries.
That is what we are witnessing now, but all these
will come down. We will make sure that we
maintain peace and security and that elections are
conducted in the manner that will be seen as free
and fair by everybody", he said.
He told the diplomats that "I am placing before you
to communicate to your organisations and
countries that we still need your assistance to
make sure that the INEC conducts elections that
are even better than the ones they did in 2011."
On global terrorism, the President said national and
global development was being hampered by the
menace of terrorism, adding that in 2014,
sustained efforts through dialogue and other means
must be mounted against terrorism.
On the forthcoming national confab, Jonathan said
it was imperative since Nigerians feel that the 1999
Constitution that was midwifed by the military and
still in place today, was not properly and fully

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