Update: Read the CCMG verification statement here.

Here is a statement, issued Jan. 20 in Abuja, from the NDI and International Republican Institute joint pre-election assessment mission for Nigeria's presidential election. The delegation visited Nigeria from Jan. 15-20.  Its goals were to:

• assess  the current political  and  electoral  environment in the lead-up to the February 14 presidential election;

• assess preparations for the presidential election and offer recommendations to enhance citizen confidence in the process and mitigate violence; and

As the Syrian civil war heads into its fourth year, formal government institutions are no longer present across much of the country. The responsibility for community services, such as health care, education and humanitarian assistance, has fallen upon newly-elected local councils or other decision makers not affiliated with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

In remote and mountainous regions of Nepal, news comes slowly and it can take days to travel short distances. These conditions pose numerous challenges, including making voting problematic, both because it’s difficult to register and because voter education is limited.