Posted by By DULUE MBACHU on
Nigerians hoping for an honest leader to fight endemic corruption voted in presidential elections Saturday, but disarray at the polls and a failed truck bombing caused unease in a country trying to solidify democratic rule.
KANO, Nigeria -- Nigerians hoping for an honest leader to fight endemic corruption voted in presidential elections Saturday, but disarray at the polls and a failed truck bombing caused unease in a country trying to solidify democratic rule.
Africa's largest oil producer is seeking its first transfer of power between elected civilian leaders since gaining independence from Britain in 1960. Other attempts have been overturned by annulments or military coups.
Maurice Iwu, chairman of Nigeria's electoral commission, blamed the failed bombing on "desperate Nigerians not interested in contesting these elections."
The attacker pointed a tanker truck loaded with fuel and gas cylinders rigged to explode at the electoral commission headquarters and placed a rock on the accelerator before jumping from the vehicle.
The tanker ran into barriers and a power pole and stopped before reaching the building. There were no injuries.
Voting started despite the attack, but many polling centers opened late _ some not at all _ and opposition leaders complained of irregularities. Ballots in many parts of the country lacked serial numbers or any other distinguishing marks that would guard against fraud. Iwu said there was no time to print serialized ballots because one candidate had to be added this week.
"I'm begging Nigerians to be patient. We're meeting emergencies as best as we can," Iwu said.
A successful election would be key to advancing democracy in Africa's most populous nation. Although blessed with the world's seventh-largest oil industry and a comparatively well-educated population, Nigeria has long been known as "the sick man of Africa" and nearly ungovernable.
Its wealth was squandered or stolen during the decades of military rule, and most Nigerians live in slums without safe water, good schools, or health clinics. A tiny elite lives behind guarded walls.
"Whoever wins should know we're not asking too much. We just want regular power and clean water," said Amina Dogo, an impoverished 62-year old woman who voted in the northern city of Kano. "We don't want to live in their big houses."
Dozens have been killed in political violence leading up to the elections. Police Inspector General Sunday Ehindero said militants who battled government forces for hours Friday in a southern oil-rich state were seeking to kidnap the ruling party's vice presidential candidate, who is also the state's governor.
President Olusegun Obasanjo won a 1999 election that ended 15 years of near-constant military rule, but his 2003 re-election was marked by allegations of widespread fraud. He is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
Obasanjo called Saturday "a significant day in the political history of Nigeria" after casting his ballot in Abeokuta, just north of Lagos.
Lai Mohammed, a spokesman for the leading opposition Action Congress, claimed there was widespread irregularities and that voting was not taking place in many states.
In the main city of Lagos, some polling centers had only a fraction of the ballot papers needed, sparking heated arguments. In some parts of Lagos, voting material for the national legislature didn't show up at all. Voters waited for hours under a piercing sun.
Iwu said some localities never received ballots but that the day had "gone smoothly, despite some problems."
In the northern city of Katsina, the governing party candidate, Katsina State Governor Umaru Yar'Adua, cast his ballot and said Nigerians shouldn't expect a flawless vote.
"Only the book of God is perfect," said Yar'Adua, who is Muslim.
Yar'Adua is considered one of the three front-runners among 25 presidential candidates, along with former military leader Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The winner must gain the most votes nationwide and at least a quarter of ballots cast in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states. If not, a runoff election would be held within one month. Nigeria's 61 million registered voters were also voting for 300 seats in the federal legislature. A new government will take power May 29.
This week, the Supreme Court overruled an electoral commission decision that had barred Abubakar from the race because of corruption charges which he denied.
Adding Abubakar's name to millions of ballots was a last-minute logistical hurdle; some were still arriving in the country Friday.
As he voted, Buhari said he would overhaul the election process if he won. "People must be allowed to participate without fear of anybody," he said.
Some Nigerians said they had begun to dread election days, when some people are harassed by thugs employed by politicians to steal ballot boxes, intimidate voters and rig the outcome.
"Some people, they fear the fighters, the touts and the thugs," said Balogun Oladaele, a 32-year old wristwatch vendor in Lagos.
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Associated Press writers Katharine Houreld and John Alechenu contributed to this report.