Twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams popped up in Nigeria this week, serving as part of a 40-member crew observing polls in the African nation’s elections, and now parties that appear to have lost the election are claiming that it was rigged.
Abrams, who is traveling with the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, told the media on Saturday that there was much excitement on the ground amongst voters.
“I would say that despite a slow start with the [violence]” Abrams said over the weekend, “we have seen orderly lines, we have seen long lines, signaling strong enthusiasm. But we’ve also seen a great deal of cooperation and a very peaceful conversation among voters. They want to be heard, and they are willing to stand in line and have patience, because they know that’s their path to progress.”
Stacey Abrams just won Nigeria’s election! pic.twitter.com/g6khnm6mpv
— Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) February 28, 2023
Despite Abrams’ glowing remarks, it should be noted that Nigeria has a very strict voter ID law that uses voter ID machines to protect the vote. Abrams has long claimed that voter ID laws in U.S. are tantamount to oppression and racism.
Well, as of Tuesday, both opposition parties in Nigeria’s presidential elections were calling for a do-over claiming that the results were corrupted in part because voter ID technology was stolen from certain polling places, causing delays and glitches.
The People’s Democratic Party, Labour Party, and African Democratic Congress released a joint statement claiming that they had lost confidence in the electoral body chairman, Mahmood Yakubu.
“We call on the international community to note that the results being declared at the National Collation centre have been heavily doctored and manipulated and do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians expressed at the polls on February 25, 2023,” the statement said.
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Abrams’ posse appeared to concur with that evaluation.
“The election fell well short of Nigerian citizens’ reasonable expectations,” a spokesperson for the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) told the press.
Abrams, for her part, also has experience decrying election results. The Georgia Democrat refused to concede on election night in 2018, only to spend the next four years bemoaning that Gov. Brian Kemp (R) had effectively stolen the election from her. Then, after he signed election reform laws that included items such as voter ID, she alleged he was suppressing the black vote even further.
After primary and general election turnout saw record early numbers with little wait times and near zero reports of voting difficulty, she alleged that the overall smooth process was not necessarily evidence that suppression did not exist. Other Democrats concurred with that assessment.
In the waning days of her campaign, she spent her time appearing at concerts pushing abortion and claimed that Republicans wanted to outlaw certain friends from playing with each other and would force parents to lie.
Similar to Nigeria’s apparent lack of transparency in their elections, Abrams’s former campaign staffers were left wondering where all of Abrams’ money went. Despite raising more than $100 million, her team ended up more than $1 million in debt while her staffers went without paychecks as of December.
Through it all, Abrams has not ruled out running for higher office. Perhaps she can finagle her way into power in Nigeria if another election takes place.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.