The People's Democratic Party holds three-quarters of the seats in both houses of parliament Saturday, April 2, 2011
Nigerians set to vote in key poll
The People's Democratic Party holds three-quarters of the seats in both houses of parliament Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is set to begin three consecutive weeks of elections.
Some 73 million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary, presidential and gubernatorial polls on the next three Saturdays.
Security is high, with borders closed and only election officials, security forces and emergency personnel allowed to drive on roads during voting.
Earlier, politicians were urged to put a stop to campaign violence.
Amnesty International said at least 20 people had been killed in related attacks and clashes over the last two weeks.
A bomb was thrown into a police station in the city of Bauchi on Friday in an apparent attempt to cause panic. No casualties were reported.
Police in the Niger Delta also said they had arrested two men driving a minibus filled with assault rifles, ammunition and a rocket launcher.
This is the third time nationwide elections are being held in Nigeria since military rule ended in 1999.
The previous ones - in 2003 and 2007 - were marred by allegations of widespread ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and violence.
Mr Jega threatened sanctions against any political leader engaging in violence or vote-rigging Security forces were also accused of siding with the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has dominated politics since the return to civilian rule.
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has promised that this time the polls will be free and fair.
"Twelve years ago, our dear country, Nigeria, returned to democratic rule and we began a journey that many expected by now would have produced a stable democratic system in which peaceful, free, fair and credible elections are routine and taken for granted," he told reporters.
"Unfortunately, this is still not the case and Nigerians are yet to reap the dividends of democracy.
"The elections we are about to commence... provide the chance for us as a nation to get it right," he added.
Vote by Numbers74m registered voters360 National Assembly members109 senators54 parties contesting36 governors20 presidential candidates
Mr Jega told the BBC that if Nigerians wanted to peacefully defend their votes at the polling stations, that was their right.
And he threatened sanctions against any political leader engaging in violence or vote-rigging, even warning he would resign if necessary.
In Saturday's election, 360 seats in the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, and 109 in the upper house, the Senate, are being contested. The PDP holds more than three quarters of the seats in both houses.
Polling stations will open at 0800 (0700 GMT), but the first hours will be dedicated to the "accreditation" of voters. Actual voting will not start until 1230 (1130 GMT) and will continue until all voters have cast their ballots.
The INEC hopes to announce results within two days of the poll.
Nigeria: A nation divided
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has won all elections since the end of military rule in 1999. It won two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states last time. But having a southerner - President Goodluck Jonathan - as its candidate in the presidential elections may lose it some votes in the north.
Nigeria's 160 million people are divided between numerous ethno-linguistic groups and also along religious lines. Broadly, the Hausa-Fulani people based in the north are mostly Muslims. The Yorubas of the south-west are divided between Muslims and Christians, while the Igbos of the south-east and neghbouring groups are mostly Christian or animist. The Middle Belt is home to hundreds of groups with different beliefs, and around Jos there are frequent clashes between Hausa-speaking Muslims and Christian members of the Berom community.
Despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most unequal countries in the world, according to the UN. The poverty of the north is in stark contrast to the more developed south. The oil-rich south-eastern states complain that all the income flows up the pipeline to the capital Abuja and to Lagos, Nigeria's wealthiest state. But residents of Akwa Ibom and Delta states are still typically better-off than those living in the north.
Southern residents tend to have better access to healthcare, as reflected by the greater uptake of vaccines for polio, tuberculosis, tetanus and diphtheria. Some northern groups have in the past boycotted immunisation programmes, saying they are a Western plot to make Muslim women infertile. This led to a recurrence of polio, but the vaccinations have now resumed.
Female literacy is seen as the key to raising living standards for the next generation. For example, a newborn child is far likelier to survive if its mother is well-educated. In Nigeria we see a stark contrast between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. In some northern states less than 5% of women can read and write, whereas in some Igbo areas more than 90% are literate.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and among the biggest in the world but most of its people subsist on less than $2 a day. The oil is produced in the south-east and some militant groups there want to keep a greater share of the wealth which comes from under their feet. Attacks by militants on oil installations led to a sharp fall in Nigeria's output during the last decade. But in 2010, a government amnesty led thousands of fighters to lay down their weapons.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-12944373
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