Nigeria polls: only 20% voted

2010-02-08 23:01

Susan Njanji

Awka - A chaotic election in a volatile Nigerian state has highlighted the dire need for electoral reforms in the African giant a year ahead of presidential polls, analysts and observers said on Monday.

Former federal vice-president Alex Ekwueme described the weekend gubernatorial polls in the south eastern state of Anambra as "a total disaster".

And it was highly unlikely the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would manage next year's general elections any better, he added.

"The voters roll was totally jumbled... [and] less than 15% of the registered voters cast their ballots," said Ekwueme, a native of Anambra.

"I despair because if the INEC cannot manage the election in one state, how will they cope with elections in 35 [other] states? I am not sure how they can cope, unless a dramatic change takes place in the next 12 months," he said.

Electoral reforms have been on President Umaru Yar'Adua's wish-list since he assumed office three years ago through an election condemned at home and abroad as seriously flawed. An electoral reform bill is still before the legislature.

Fifty years after independence and following nearly three decades of military rule, Nigeria is yet to join the club of Africa's strongest democracies.

In transition

"Nigeria is still transiting. We are still growing in the democratic space," said Godwin Onu, dean of social sciences at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, the state capital.

"What happened in Anambra shows there is little improvement from what we used to have before."

Ekwueme and other observers said the vote collation process was transparent and a step up from previous polls in a state with a history of electoral violence, but there were glaring lapses in the way the election was run.

The election, which saw opposition figure Peter Obi re-elected as state governor, were marred by shambolic voters rolls and long delays in opening polling stations. The turnout was less than 20%.

Obi represents the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Amidst the gloom, analysts were keen to emphasise some rare plusses in the vote. They say that fear the INEC would manipulate the vote in favour of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) did not materialise.

And they say that the absence of federal interference and the so-called political godfathers who have previously masterminded electoral fraud here appeared to have helped diminish the chances of vote rigging.

Free of violence

"There was no central authority to dictate the tunes and influence judgement," said Mike Oddih, head of the political science faculty at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

Local and foreign observers said that aside from the problems with voter registers and delays, the elections were free of violence and the result reflected the will of the people who were able to cast their vote.

Yar'Adua is receiving treatment for an acute heart condition in a Saudi hospital and has been out of the country for nearly 10 weeks. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, is "trying to survive," said Oddih.

The 2007 poll that brought Yar'Adua to power was tainted by widespread rigging and voter intimidation, and he had vowed to improve the credibility of elections in the continent's most populous nation.

Nigeria's Information Minister Dora Akunyili said while the weekend vote improved on 2007, "still we expect better. If we fail we will really not have any excuse".

- SAPA