Nigeria poll extended after glitches, killings

Inter1Voters who were unable to cast their ballot because of technical problems in Nigeria’s general election have returned to the polls, as the main parties traded accusations over the use of the technology.The country’s electoral commission said some 300 of the 150,000 polling stations opened yesterday to accredit voters after handheld devices to read biometric identity cards failed.

Nigeria’s ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) called the situation a “huge national embarrassment” after President Goodluck Jonathan was affected by the malfunction as he tried to register on Saturday.

The election pits Jonathan, 57, against 72-year-old Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader from the All Progressives Congress (APC), a coalition of three parties that united in 2013 to field one presidential candidate.

That’s the test of Saturday’s Presidential and parliamentary elections in Africa’s largest democracy.

If they do vote out President Goodluck Jonathan, and the ruling People’s Democratic Party which has ruled Nigeria for 16 years, since the end of military rule, it would be the first peaceful handover of power from one democrat to another in the country’s history. In this case – to the key presidential opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.

More than $40m has been spent on these elections by the election commission. Close to 60 million people have collected voter cards to participate. And there are more than 120,000 polling stations around the country.

The winner in the presidential race needs 50 percent of the vote plus 1 and at least 25 percent of the vote in two thirds of the country’s 36 states to win. And thousands of parliamentarians running for around 500 seats, a simple majority.

It’s a colossal logistical challenge – in a country with porous borders and uneven infrastructure. But the voters we met at polling stations in Abuja were not put off.

People seem resolute in their determination to participate in this election, despite long hours waiting to be accredited, and even longer hours waiting to vote.

The ruling party said repeatedly throughout the campaign that the technology should not be used as it was untested and there were questions about officials’ ability to use it.

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, sought to downplay the malfunctions, saying it was limited to “only about 450” card readers.

On Saturday, many voters camped overnight or arrived early at polling stations to have their credentials checked before returning to vote in the afternoon and long into the night.

Government spokesman Mike Omeri claimed it was a “record high voter turnout”, without giving figures, adding that it was a “triumph of Nigerian democracy” despite the polling problems. Boko Haram loomed large, seeking to disrupt what it sees as the “un-Islamic” elections by launching a series of attacks.

Violence affected areas in the country’s restive north-east both prior to, and during, polling on Saturday, with AP reporting that at least 41 people were killed by suspected Boko Haram fighters.

The rebels invaded the town of Miringa in Borno state, burning people’s homes and then shooting them as they tried to escape the smoke. Twenty-five people died in the attack, Borno state Governor Kashim Shettima said.

“They had sent messages earlier warning us not to encourage democracy by participating in today’s election,” said Mallam Garba Buratai, a Miringa resident who witnessed the attack.

Another 14 people were killed in attacks on the town of Biri and Dukku, in Gombe state, according to police and local chief, Garkuwan Dukku.

Among the dead was a Gombe state legislator, Umaru Ali, said Sani Dugge, the local campaign director for the opposition coalition.

Two voters were killed in Boko Haram attacks on polling stations in the twin Gombe towns of Birin Bolawa and Birin Fulani, according to police. Witnesses said the gunmen yelled that they had warned people to stay away from polling. In four other north-east towns in Yobe state, gunmen drove in and fired into the air, frightening people to flee into the bush and disrupting any voting, police said.

Analysts are calling the poll a pivotal historical event for the young democracy. It is the tightest presidential race in Nigeria’s history.

Jonathan, who became president in 2010 after succeeding Umaru Yaradua who died in office before completing his term, is contesting his second election. He comes from the predominantly Christian south while his challenger Buhari, who seized power in the 1980s, is from the mainly Muslim north.

Jonathan’s PDP has ruled Africa’s most populous nation virtually unopposed for 16 years. But it is possible he could lose to Buhari, who has contested three previous elections but never come close to victory before.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday congratulated Nigerians for holding “largely peaceful and orderly” elections despite Boko Haram attacks and urged them to continue to maintain a peaceful atmosphere.

Ban condemned attacks carried out by “Boko Haram and others who have attempted to disrupt” the presidential and parliamentary polls. But he said Nigerians had shown resilience by pressing forward and turning out to vote “in the face of unjustifiable violence”.

The UN chief called on all sides to continue to shun violence throughout the ongoing vote and the announcement of the results.

He said all voting complaints should be resolved through dispute resolution mechanisms.

“The successful conclusion of the electoral process will mark an important step forward in further consolidating democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria,” Ban said. –  AFP.

 

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