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Obasanjo: Elections not fair
23/04/2007 16:48 - (SA)
Abuja - President Olusegun Obasanjo admitted on Monday Nigeria's elections had been far from perfect, but called on the country to do better next time.
In a surprise live address to the nation, held minutes before the official proclamation of results, he lamented voting delays, violence and fraud in state, presidential and legislative elections held in two stages over the past week.
"It is my fervent wish that Nigerians will consider this experience as a necessary step in our journey as a people towards consolidating our democracy," he said.
"After all, in another four years, there will be an opportunity for a fresh contest which I hope will take care of ballot paper and ballot box malpractices."
As the first election enabling a peaceful transition from one civilian to another since Nigeria's independence in 1960, the poll had been held up as a showcase of the country's democratic progress.
But the mayhem and violence - which left 200 people dead according to EU observers - has brought sharp condemnation from foreign observers and opposition parties alike, some calling for a re-run of the polls.
Urging Nigerian voters and parties to take their complaints to the courts, Obasanjo called on the electoral commission and the judiciary to put wrongs right within the next five weeks before he steps down on May 29.
Late arrival of ballots
Umaru Yar'Adua, the incumbent's favourite to take over as president, on Monday was declared winner of the poll with 24.6 million votes, four times that of his nearest rival, according to the national election commission (INEC).
"Our elections could not have been said to have been perfect," said Obasanjo.
He cited in example the late arrival of ballots, which deprived some of the right to vote; violence, including a bomb attack against the electoral commission headquarters; and electoral fraud, including ballot box snatching.
"As our judiciary has shown, many of the observed lapses in the elections are not incapable of correction, and it is our hope that political parties, contestants and INEC will make available all information and evidence to enable the judiciary perform its functions," he said.
"That way, mistakes and accidents can be corrected."
He also said 30 policemen and more than 35 civilians had died in election violence.
Obasanjo, a former military leader who handed power over to civilians in 1979 before winning two presidential elections in 1999 and 2003, expressed disappointment at parties that have employed thugs and violence.
"Nigeria must show example to the rest of Africa and the world that we are capable of choosing our leaders peacefully and democratically," he said.
"We all have an abiding duty to our collective posterity to ensure that we do nothing to threaten our nation's corporate existence and survival on the altar of political expediency."
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