The following are excerpts from the South African Mail and Guardian published today.
Nigeria poll fiasco's SA
by Stefaans Brümmer and Tumi Makgetla@The Mail and Guardian 26/4/07
Observers have highlighted the late delivery -- and sometimes non-delivery -- of voting material as one of the central failings in elections some have branded a "charade". Nigerian observers and opposition parties have demanded a rerun.
Many claim the distribution of ballot papers was deliberately skewed to disenfranchise opposition voters. One monitor told the BBC of his experience in Nassarawa state: "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."
The opposition Action Congress of outgoing Vice-President Atiku Abubakar claimed that in all its strongholds, the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) "deliberately ensured inadequate supply of voting materials … If this is not rigging, we don't know what else to call it."
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