Sunday, April 13, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Nigeria poll: A monitor's view
Election monitors from Nigeria and abroad have condemned last Saturday's presidential election as a "charade". Here, Emma Ezeazu from the Alliance for Credible Elections recounts his experience.
I was one of the roving monitors from the Transition Monitoring Group that observed elections in Nassarawa State (central Nigeria) during the governorship elections and in Kaduna State (north-western Nigeria) during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
In places where the PDP wasn't in control, voting was delayed.
I heard about the violence in Nassarawa State. But our team had left before the violence actually started.
But while I was there, from early in the day, it was quite disappointing because hundreds and hundreds of people were already standing in long queues in Maraba and Keffi by 1000 [local time] but Inec [election commission] officials had yet to arrive.
Quite a number of those in the queue told us they weren't going anywhere until they voted.
We noticed that ballot papers were available in [ruling People's Democratic Party] PDP strongholds in the state and voting started in those areas on time.
But in places where the PDP wasn't in control, voting was delayed. That was our experience in Nassarawa State.
Intimidation
We also saw poor policing during the polls.
In one polling station in Keffi we saw a son of a particular chief harassing and intimidating voters using thugs to cause confusion on the queues.
He was trying to frighten people so they would leave the voting area so he could tamper with the result of the voting.
We also saw PDP agents virtually manning the polling bags.
The polls were "a charade" said many groups of observers
I mean, people were forced to thumb-print in front of the PDP agents and then they took the ballot and put it in the ballot box. We found this very terrifying.
We also saw a group of under-aged voters who were being paid 50 naira [40 US cents] notes to vote for a particular party.
In this polling station, a primary school in Keffi, the PDP won. The children were happy with the 50 naira and were jumping and jubilant.
I didn't witness any ballot box-snatching or stuffing because I was a roving monitor.
Only my colleagues who were stationed in particular polling stations reported cases of ballot box-snatching and stuffing.
Resources
When we were going round for the presidential elections, we saw Inec officials without transport.
Inec officials were trekking long distances with ballot papers and ballot bags without any security at all to get to their assigned polling stations.
I thought this was instructive.
Here we were; a group of civil society monitors, we had our cars, we had our lunch packs, we had biscuits, we had water and we were comfortable.
But here are electoral officers, who are doing the real job of the election, and they had no transport, no food, no security, nothing.
I looked at the electoral officials and I laughed because I knew there was no way workers who are so poorly motivated could produce any credible outputs.
They never had any breaks in the course of the work. There was no system at all available at all in terms of logistics.
We have reports of how our monitors were chased away from polling stations and how one of them was arrested and thrown into a police cell.
But I didn't have any such experience.
What made me to smile during the exercise was seeing so many ordinary Nigerians patiently queuing up in the sun, waiting for a chance to vote.
It made me smile because it made me hopeful that my country will be out of the woods eventually.
Can Nigerian leader get on with his job?
By Andrew Walker
BBC News, Abuja
Mr Yar'Adua has vowed to carry out reforms
The tribunal ruling upholding last year's Nigerian presidential election seems to allow Umaru Yar'Adua to get on with his job.
But the issues he will have to tackle to be a successful president will be made more difficult by the "forces of conservatism" that levered him into power, observers say.
The ruling may turn out to be a victory for stability and conservatism, rather than reform.
President Yar'Adua has vowed to reform the electoral system, the electricity grid and the oil industry.
A serious and earnest man, he no doubt means to make these changes.
But some observers told the BBC President Yar'Adua would have a tough time reforming government because those who got him into power would now expect repayment.
Flawed election
Umar Yar'Adua was a little-known governor from Katsina state when he was handed the nomination of his party in December 2006.
The night before the primary all the other major contenders were forced to step down by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Yar'Adua is not any less beholden to the people who rigged him into power
'Embarrassing' power cuts
This gave rise to the observation among journalists in Nigeria he would be "selected not elected".
"Yar'Adua is not any less beholden to the people who rigged him into power," said Chris Albin Lackey, of Human Rights Watch, who was in Katsina during the April polls.
The election was marred by violence and poor regulation by the Independent National Election Commission (Inec).
Across the country people who queued for hours at polling stations could not vote on the day because ballots had not arrived, according to international observers.
In several states polling stations were broken up by youths carrying machetes.
In the past gangs of thugs have been paid by local politicians to deliver the election for the government.
Serial numbers were not printed on the ballots, making it easy for anyone to manipulate the result.
The 2007 election was marred by violence
In Abuja the result was announced before all the states had reported their counts, opposition party agents claimed.
The tribunal recognised that many aspects of the election broke the law.
"But the petitioners did not bring anything of substance to show that these breaches of the electoral act substantially altered the outcome of the election," Judge Abdulkadir Abubakar Jega said.
President Yar'Adua won the election by a massive margin.
He took 70% of the vote compared to 18% for Muhammadu Buhari and 7% for Atiku Abubakar.
The ruling has raised questions about how exactly they could have provided more evidence.
"How can you prove it affected the result of the election when you don't have the evidence that an election took place?" Mr Albin Lackey said.
'Stability'
Lawyers acting for President Yar'Adua said the ruling should put the flawed election out of the way and allow him to get on with his job.
The election tribunal has done a wonderful job, you really can't fault it legally speaking
Prof Awalu Yadudu
Some observers agree.
"The law is supposed to balance society, not plunge it into chaos," Usman Mohammed, a lecturer in international relations, said.
"It will strengthen the government and sharpen the opposition."
Prof Awalu Yadudu, a constitutional lawyer said he sympathised with people who did not believe the ruling reflected what really happened during the election.
"People will feel despondent and disappointed," he said. "But the election tribunal has done a wonderful job, you really can't fault it legally speaking."
Elections may turn out to be better next time, if the lessons are learned, he said
Challenge
Another area President Yar'Adua may really be judged is not in his election, but in the reform of the oil sector, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
He has stated he wants to make it into a functioning industry that will deliver increased revenue - and development - for Nigeria.
But a source in the oil industry who did not want to be named, said: "I just cannot see how he is going to reform the sector, because those who put him there will want to get valuable contracts. It's like the forces of conservatism have won."
Most Nigerians have already put the election behind them.
Some have warmed to their new president, but whether he will have a lasting effect on improving their lives will be his true test.
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