Nigeria: 2015 Campaigns - A Mid-Stream Review

23 February 2015
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By now, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should have declared the winners of the 2015 presidential and National Assembly elections and should be getting ready for state elections this weekend. On February 7th, INEC announced a six-week extension of the polls, citing request by the security high-command. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some commentators have insisted that INEC was not ready for the polls and that the electoral commission was unfair in presenting the military as the villains of this extension. They may have some points. They may not.

What is not contestable however is that the postponement has stretched the campaign season by six weeks. This will surely impact the plans, and possibly the fortunes, of the political parties. The immediate effect of the delay is an understandable lull in open campaigns, as the parties have had to slow down and return to the drawing boards. But beyond the parties, this intermission also provides our country a good opportunity to review the positive and negative highlights of this landmark campaign season and see where important interventions might be needed in the overall interest of our country.

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