Posted by By BASHIR ADIGUN, Associated Press Writer on
Nigeria's two main opposition parties withdrew threats on Thursday to boycott presidential elections, setting the stage for a weekend vote meant to boost civilian rule in Africa's most populous nation.
Nigeria's two main opposition parties withdrew threats on Thursday to boycott presidential elections, setting the stage for a weekend vote meant to boost civilian rule in Africa's most populous nation.
Eighteen opposition parties threatened in a joint statement earlier this week to boycott unless the government postponed Saturday's vote pending the creation of a new electoral commission. The All Nigeria People's Party led by presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was the first among the 18 to break ranks.
The opposition has said it was worried the vote would be undermined by fraud.
But "we shall not boycott and we will participate fully," a party leader, Edwin Ume Ezeoke, told reporters in the capital, Abuja, saying a boycott would only help the governing party.
Vice President Atiku Abubakar's Action Congress called Buhari's unilateral move a "stab in the back," saying unless the opposition acted together, any boycott would be meaningless. Abubakar, who was only cleared to run by a Supreme Court ruling days ago, would have been particularly helped by a delay.
"We hereby call on all members of Action Congress and all Nigerians to vote for our presidential candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who will definitely contest Saturday's presidential election," the campaign said in a statement.
The 1999 election of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military ruler, ended decades of near-constant military rule and coups d'etat that overturned periodic civilian administrations. His 2003 re-election was marred by violence and accusations of widespread fraud.
Obasanjo was barred from running again by constitutional term limits. Umaru Yar'Adua, a member of Obasanjo's party, is seen as the front-runner in Saturday's race. Abubakar, who fell out with Obasanjo and joined the opposition after opposing a failed bid to overturn term limits, is considered another front-runner.
The main opposition groups accuse the ruling party of rigging an April 14 vote for state officers. The governing party was declared winner of more than two-thirds of the 36 governors races.
The joint opposition statement also had demanded the April 14 results be tossed out. The government rejected all the demands.
Saturday's vote is meant to set up the first transfer of power between elected governments in Nigeria.
The run-up to the vote has been chaotic and bloody. On Wednesday, Nigerian soldiers killed at least 25 suspected Islamic militants who had attacked a police station a day earlier in the northern city of Kano. Kano was calm on Thursday, with the battle site deserted.
At least 21 people died in political violence during the April 14 vote.
Abubakar was ordered back on the ballot this week by the Supreme Court. The electoral commission had disqualified him based on corruption allegations, but bowed to the court - without explaining how his name would be added to the 61 million ballots with only days to go.