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Election Progress and challenges as Nigeria Votes.
By Victor Anazonwu (Lagos)
Despite rampant technical and logistic hitches, Nigeria's highly anticipated and closest-fought elections in many years exceeded expectations to pass without much bad blood Saturday – to the relief of most Nigerians and the international community.
It was a tale of mixed fortunes as the electronic card reader, introduced for the first time in Nigeria for voter verification, failed in several polling centers but worked perfectly in many others across the country. For instance, while the opposition presidential candidate, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari , had a smooth ride with his accreditation and voting in Daura – thanks to a working card reader, incumbent President and PDP presidential flag bearer, Goodluck Jonathan, wasn't so lucky as he, his wife and mother endured nearly 40 anxious minutes and four failed card readers before eventually getting accredited in his home town of Otuoke in Bayelsa State, South-South Nigeria.
Beamed on live television around the country, the dramatic scenes at Otuoke raised anxiety among supporters and observers alike while it lasted. But the President's gracious comments to newsmen immediately after accreditation did a lot to calm nerves when he urged Nigerians to be patient in the face of such challenges and consider them as part of the price of democracy
The varied experiences of the presidential flag-bearers appeared to have set the tone for the rest of the country. While accreditation and voting progressed satisfactorily in several polling units, in others there were accounts of electoral officials failing to show up, arriving late for duty or being unable to operate the card readers.
Growing reports of failed or troubled polling from around the country prompted Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to announce early Saturday afternoon that polling would continue Sunday in areas where it could not take place as scheduled. This included five council areas of Lagos state alone.
In Anambra State, South East Nigeria, state Governor Willie Obiano was livid when he arrived at his polling booth to find that there were no INEC officials present to attend to him and numerous other intending voters. In Plateau State, North Central Nigeria, Governor Jonah Jang could not be successfully accredited with the card reader and polling officials had to resort to manual methods.
In Alimosho council area of Lagos State, a man was denied voting rights because his Permanent Voter Card (PVC) identified him as “female.” Although reports say he met all other parameters including facial and finger print identification, officials asked him to step aside, preferring to err on the side of caution. When ballot boxes for polling failed to materialize shortly afterwards, the same officials were said to have found their mojo, deciding to use nearby waste bins instead, much to the admiration of anxious voters.
In Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria, a man was arrested with 300 PVCs suspected to have been snatched from either INEC officials or their rightful owners. Bombs were also reported to have gone off in voting centers in Enugu and Anambra states, both in the same part of the country as Ebonyi.
Perhaps the ugliest incident of the polls Saturday occurred in Gombe, North Central Nigeria, where a serving lawmaker and eight others were killed by drive-by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents. But not even that could take away the pleasant surprise that the elections have so far proceeded better than expected. Most Nigerians say the polls so far are a marked improvement from previous exercises, though still logistically challenged. As at the time of filling this report, counting was in high gear at collation centers across the country while final results are expected Monday.