Attahiru M. Jega l. The Electoral Institute(TEI) has been reorganized, with the aim of making it a centre of excellence for training and researchnot just for INEC, but also for State Independent Electoral Commissions(SIECs) and other EMBs in the West African sub-region. m. A Graphic Design Centre has been established with support from a development partner(FES), which now gives INEC the capacity to produce several election materials internally. n. A programme for the review of electoral constituencies and the creation of additional polling units is on-going. o. INEC staff are being trained and re-trained on an on-going basis, especially through several BRIDGE workshops, with support from many development partners. p. All the Guidelines and Regulations on the electoral process are being revised, while discussion has commenced with legal experts across the country on how to enact and gazette them. q. An Election Risk Management Tool, designed with support from the African Union(AU) and International IDEA, has been deployed ahead of 2015 to enable the Commission to gather information about risk factors associated with elections, be able to analyse them and deploy effective measures to contain or mitigate those factors, towards ensuring peaceful and violence-free elections. From the foregoing, we are convinced that the prospects of having good elections in 2015 are very bright. But we harbour no illusion that our preparations are perfect, or that we have accounted for all the issues that could pose challenges for the elections. In fact, there are still a number of key challenges. 36 Stakeholders and the Electoral Process in Nigeria: Review of 2011 Elections and Projections for 2015 2.6 Challenges Ahead in 2015 It is not possible to predict all challenges that could arise in the management of an election. All we have done is to learn from past challenges and try to contain them. Still, some old challenges willy­nilly would persist and new ones are likely to emerge. Four major challenges continue to face us as we approach 2015 and, for want of better characterization, I name them as insecurity, funding, attitude of the political class and an inactive citizenry. a. Insecurity: One of the most depressing epithets of elections in Nigeria is that they are said to be'akin to war'. Indeed, the heat and passion associated with elections in Nigeria often make elections appear like war. Pre-election violence has led to the death of many politicians, their supporters and innocent citizens. Widespread intimidation of voters persists and organized thugs spread fear across communities in the build up to elections. Part of the problem could be because elections in Nigeria are a winner­takes-all affair; in effect, the loser loses everything, akin to payment of reparations by an enemy defeated in a war. In fact, election security has become a lasting issue facing the management of elections in Nigeria. Several security threats now characterize the electoral process. These include physical attacks on INEC staff and facilities, attacks on security personnel on election duty, misuse of security orderlies by politicians, attacks on political opponents, cyber-attacks targeting INEC's databases, especially the register of voters, violence at campaigns, intimidation of voters, snatching and destruction of elections materials, among others. These threats are now exacerbated by insecurity in some parts of the country, making the conduct of elections in those parts even more insecure. 37