Nigerians went out to vote under tight security yesterday in a ballot delayed by administrative bungling and marred by a deadly bomb attack hours before polling stations opened.
The setbacks have added to questions over whether Africa’s giant, with more people than Russia, could hold its first credible elections since military rule ended 12 years ago.
Yesterday’s parliamentary election, delayed a week because ballot papers failed to arrive across much of the country, will be followed by the more important presidential election next Saturday, with governorship polls in 36 states on April 26.
Soldiers manned improvised roadblocks of tires and upturned tables on main roads in parts of Lagos, while police took up their posts at dawn at polling stations in schools, bank forecourts and on the edge of the road.
Security was tightened nationwide after a bombing killed at least 10 people late on Friday at an office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Suleja, on the edge of Abuja. There was no claim of responsibility.
“Nigerians must remain resolved not to allow the perpetrators of this dastardly act to achieve their aim of scuttling the aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections,” said Attahiru Jega, the academic who heads INEC and has pledged to hold a fair election for once.
People headed for polling stations across the country of 150 million, which stretches from the oil-producing mangrove swamps and teeming cities near the coast to the dustblown fringes of the Sahara desert.
“We want to fight for our own rights, we have to come out and vote,” said Timothy Mshelia in Shaffa, a cluster of concrete buildings and mud dwellings in northern Borno state.
“But people must not lose their lives for this as in the past,” he said, close to where four people were shot as they prepared electoral materials on Friday afternoon.
Under procedures to try to stop cheating, up to 73 million voters had to first register from 8am before the actual voting started at 12:30pm.
The ballot was called off on Saturday last week after voting slips and other materials failed to reach most of the country. Adding to the confusion was the fact that voting had started in some areas by the time it was canceled.
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