Nigerian leader to rioters: 'Enough is enough'

Nigeria in turmoil over election resultsNEW: Electoral commission postpones voting in two statesThe president tells protesters to avoid violence"There are ... no grievances that our laws and courts cannot address," he says Protesters in the mostly Muslim north charge the vote is rigged after Jonathan's election

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- Concerned about ongoing violence, Nigerian election officials Thursday delayed gubernatorial elections in two states.

Voters in Kaduna and Bauchi states will now go to the polls on April 28, said Attahiru M. Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Elections will continue April 26 in other states.

"This is to allow for further cooling of tempers and for the security situation in those states to improve," Jega said.

The development came after Goodluck Jonathan, who was declared the winner in the recent presidential election, warned perpetrators of postelection violence that "enough is enough. He said the unrest in a series of elections brings back memories of events leading up to a 1960s civil war in the nation.

Jonathan, who ran as the incumbent, hails from the oil-rich southern region, which is majority Christian.

Parts of the mostly Muslim north charged the elections were rigged. Armed protesters in the region prowled the streets chanting the name of former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, the main opposition frontrunner.

"We are shocked by these horrific acts, which strike at the heart of our nation," Jonathan said in a statement Thursday. "These acts of mayhem are sad reminders of the events which plunged our country into 30 months of an unfortunate civil war."

Muslims fearing reprisal attacks in Christian areas have fled to military barracks or neighboring states, the Nigerian Red Cross said.

More than 40,000 people are displaced in the north, according to the aid group. Government officials have declined to release the number of fatalities or injuries over fears it could prompt revenge attacks.

Jonathan urged protesters to avoid violence, saying "enough is enough."

"There are ... no grievances that our laws and courts cannot address," he said.

Jonathan's warning comes two days after he pledged a "new dawn" for the nation following the vote hailed as a significant improvement from past polls.

The last election four years ago was widely condemned for rampant vote rigging, violence, theft of ballot boxes and intimidation. While Saturday's election was marred by violence, reports of underage voting and other logistical problems, observers considered it an improvement.

Action Congress of Nigeria, an opposition party, Thursday called the presidential election "the most systematically rigged election in Nigeria's history" and warned against a repeat in next week's gubernatorial elections.

''President Jonathan should call his dogs of war at the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) to order, so that they will not push their luck by attempting to thwart the will of the people any more than they have already done, with the grim consequences that we all can now see,'' the party said.

World leaders have urged the west African nation to probe allegations of ballot stuffing and unusually high turnout in some areas.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and its most populous nation with 150 million people.

View the original article here

17.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nigerian elections mostly peaceful

The voting was largely peacefulIncumbent Goodluck Jonathan is the front-runner His lead comes despite a poor performance in the parliamentary vote last week His main challenger is former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari

Kaduna, Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigerians voted for president Saturday, a week after parliamentary elections were marred by violence and accusations of fraud in Africa's most populous nation.

Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan is the presidential front-runner despite a poor performance in the parliamentary and senate elections by his People's Democratic Party.

The former vice president assumed office after President Umaru Yar'Adua died last year following treatment for a kidney ailment in Saudi Arabia.

Jonathan has led the nation of about 150 million people since May. About 73 million people are registered to vote.

His main challenger -- former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari -- was a contestant in the past elections in 2003 and 2007. Buhari is the candidate for the Congress for Progressive Change.

Other candidates include Nuhu Ribadu and current Kano state Gov. Ibrahim Shekarau.

A CNN iReporter in Lagos, who gave her name as Jan Young, said she expected the race to be tight.

"If the incumbent president wins, it won't be a landslide victory but a fair split between the ruling and opposition parties who campaigned for our votes. I also expect our nation would demand accountability from whoever wins at the end of the day," she wrote.

The winner will face tough challenges in the former British colony that has been mostly under military rule in its 50 years of independence.

For starters, to avoid a runoff, the winner must get at least a quarter of the vote in two-thirds of the 36 states and the capital.

The ruling party has a tradition of alternating power between the mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south after two terms in office.

The rhythm was broken when Jonathan, a southerner, succeeded Yar'Adua during his second term in office. Some ruling party leaders have demanded a candidate from the north.

Saturday's voting was largely peaceful, except for a bomb that exploded in northeastern Nigeria early in the day. The blast was in Maiduguri city in Borno state, according to a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency.

Gunfire also rang out in that city, the spokesman said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The relative calm stood in contrast to the violence that marred the country's parliamentary elections last week. During that vote, separate bomb blasts ripped through a polling station and a collation center in northeastern Nigeria.

Human Rights Watch has estimated that at least 85 people have been killed in political violence so far.

A new election chief promised free and fair elections, but the electoral commission was forced to put off elections earlier this year by a week after logistical problems, including party logos missing from ballot papers, were reported nationwide.

It was a major setback reminiscent of the nation's 2007 elections, which the European Union described as filled with rampant vote rigging, violence, theft of ballot boxes and intimidation.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and its largest oil producer, is a major supplier of crude oil to the United States, and hosts many Western oil companies and workers.

Nigerians voted April 9 for 360 House of Representatives seats and 109 Senate seats. After the presidential election on Saturday, a gubernatorial vote will be held on April 26.

Nigerians are working to harness the power of the internet this year to demand accountability and encourage citizens to get involved in the voting process.

The west African nation has 43 million internet users -- the largest in Africa -- and they are increasingly using Twitter, Facebook and blogs to report cases of voting problems during the election season.

View the original article here

14.50 | 0 komentar | Read More