Lagos — With the candidate of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), Umaru Yar'Adua, apparently heading for victory according to early results from Saturday's presidential election in Nigeria, the two most prominent opposition candidates have called for a re-run. And international and Nigerian election monitors have condemned the electoral process as seriously flawed.
Nigeria's independent Transition Monitoring Group, which deployed thousands of local observers nationwide, said many voters across the country were unable to cast ballots. And the 59-member delegation sponsored by the Washington, DC-based International Republican Institute, said in a statement that this weekend's voting and the gubernatorial balloting one week earlier "fall below the standard set by previous Nigerian elections and international standards witnessed by IRI around the globe."
Government officials, including President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose second term ends in five weeks, have conceded shortcomings in the process but have rejected calls for annulment. Maurice Iwu, the head of the agency responsible for the voting, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told a press conference on Sunday that the elections were "largely successful" and said: "We have broken the jinx, we have never gotten this far."
On Saturday, the millions of Nigerians who turned out to vote encountered numerous obstacles around the country, although radio broadcasts and news reports indicated that voting went smoothly in a number of places. But turnout appeared to be significantly lower that during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections a week earlier, and serious problems in almost every area were widely reported.
In Lagos, large numbers of voters, apparently assuming that polls would open late, waited until late afternoon to turn up at voting centres, probably to avoid long waits under the burning sun. In the populous Obalende district, not a single voter could be seen during a morning tour of polling centers. Only election commissioners and police officers were found. The scene was almost identical in several other districts, where not many voters could be seen even in the early afternoon.
With over four million registered voters, Lagos – along with Kano in the north – has the largest eligible voting population. But many here apparently felt they had little reason to go to the polls. "It's because we know the outcome of this election that people don't bother," said Musilu, a man in his thirties, who turned up to vote at one of the centers and wanted only his first name used, fearing reprisal. "The ruling party has already won and we don't want to delude ourselves," he said.
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"Last week, the people went out to vote because the gubernatorial election is more relevant to us," another young man chimed in. "The federal government only works for its members."
In polling stations visited by reporters, voters complained about countless setbacks, including being sent from one voting center to another and being told at each stop that it wasn't where they were supposed to vote. "I have been going around for an hour and it seems impossible for me to find my polling center," said Emeka. "I have just been told I must go three kilometers away to cast my vote, but the government has said nobody should be in the streets," he said, adding that he was giving up and returning to his home.
Meanwhile, elections for National Assembly members in six states were postponed by the Independent Electoral National Commission (INEC), which cited insufficient ballot papers and the absence of party logos and recognizable candidate photos on the printed forms. Voters in Lagos, Sokoto, Oyo, Abia, Rivers and Enugu states could only cast their vote for president.
To win the presidential race, a candidate must win the most votes nationwide and at least a quarter of ballots cast in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states. Otherwise, a runoff must be held within a month. The new president is scheduled to take office on May 29, along with the 360 representatives and 109 senators in the federal parliament.
