Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR Since April 2011, INEC has conducted several elections at the National and State levels. We are therefore, together with Security Agencies and other stakeholders in the electoral process, opportune to identify some of the most critical and recurring security challenges in election management. This workshop should serve as a platform not only to review these challenges, but also to anticipate others given our own political and economic contexts, that may likely arise as we move towards 2015. This is the most appropriate time to begin this assessment and planning, and I am, therefore, particularly pleased that this meeting is taking place at this time. From the range of topics to be discussed, I have no doubt that very useful contributions would be made towards more secured elections in 2015. Election Security Security is indispensable to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections. From the provision of basic security to voters at political party rallies and campaigns to ensuring that result forms are protected, the whole electoral process is circumscribed by security considerations. In view of the scale of general elections, the number of people involved, election materials that need to be moved, difficulty of the terrain to be traversed, as well as the physical locations that need to be protected, such an operation is complex. It represents logistics and planning challenge that require a wide range of stakeholders, processes, locations, and issues in time and space. Whether we are talking of electoral staff, voters, or other stakeholders such as candidates and their agents, xx ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING Security Challenges of Election Management: Towards 2015 parties, civil society organizations, domestic and international observer groups and security agencies themselves, security is critical in the protection of electoral personnel, locations and processes; in ensuring that voters exercise their civic duties without fear or hindrance; in creating a level playing field for all political parties and candidates to canvass for support; in protecting domestic and foreign observers in discharging their duties and obligations, and in maintaining the overall integrity of the democratic and electoral processes. The significance of electoral security cannot, therefore, be overemphasized. Electoral security is crucial for creating the proper environment; electoral staff require to carry out their duties; for voters to freely and safely go to their polling units to vote; for candidates and political parties to organize rallies and campaigns; and for other numerous stakeholders to discharge their responsibilities under the Constitution and the Electoral Act. In planning, coordination and deployment matters pertaining to electoral processes, well-coordinated security is a fundamental requirement for success. Adequate security ensures the free movement of electoral staff, voters, candidates, observers and other stakeholders on Election Day, which, in turn adds to the credibility of the electoral process. Similarly, adequate security is an important pre-condition for the deployment of valuable electoral assets and sensitive materials to registration and polling sites. Adequate security increases the level of participation of political parties, candidates and voters in an election. It also enables a more objective coverage of events by the media and easier circulation of voters' education, message and materials. ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING xxi