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Nigerian Electoral Official to Discuss Election With Governors

   Peter Clottey  March 27, 2011

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Residents  check  for  their  names on the voters registration list in
   Lagos,  Nigeria, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011. Voters in oil-rich Nigeria are
   finding  it  hard  to  verify  that  they are on the registration list
   before the country's crucial April elections as few locations exist in
   the city of 14 million people where voters could check their names and
   even  then,  some  registered  voters  couldn't  find their names. (AP
   Photo/Sunday Alamba)

   An  official  of  Nigeriaâs  Independent National Electoral Commission
   (INEC) says the chairman of the electoral body is scheduled to address
   the  countryâs governorâs forum Monday, ahead of Aprilâs presidential,
   parliamentary and state governorship elections.

   Nick  Dazan,  INEC  assistant  director  of  public  affairs, says the
   electoral   chief   will   focus   his  address  on  preparations  his
   organization is making to ensure a credible general election that will
   meet international standards.

   âThe  INEC  chairman is supposed to address the governorâs forum today
   at  the  State Banquet Hall about the preparations that the commission
   is  making to conduct the elections from Saturday 2^nd April, 2011. He
   has  done  something  like  that  before;  he has also addressed other
   stakeholders  like  the Nigeria Bar Association, the security agencies
   and the political parties,â said Dazan.

   âLast  week,  these  groups  were briefed about how the elections were
   going  to  be  held  and  the  commitment of the commission to conduct
   elections  that  are  free,  fair, and credible, and acceptable to the
   international community,â he added.

   Dazan  says  the  governors  have  an  important  role  to play in the
   upcoming general elections.

   âThe  significance  of  the forum is that the governors control the 36
   states  plus  the  Federal  Capitol  Territory  and  they  are  a very
   significant  stakeholder  in  the  process  and they are also going to
   contest  for  the  elections,  and  it is only important that they are
   galvanized  and made aware of the rules that will inform and undergird
   the elections,â said Dazan.

   âAs  you  are  aware, certain changes have been brought to bear on the
   elections  with  the view to making sure that the elections fair, they
   are  credible  and  they  are  more  acceptable to Nigerians, and that
   transparency also is being brought into these elections,â he added.

   Dazan  says  the  electoral  commission will, in his words, not aid or
   shelter  any  of  its  members caught manipulating election results to
   help any of the competing parties win the April vote.

   âThe  commission  has  told  them  [electoral officials] that it is no
   longer   business   as   usual   and  that  everything  must  be  done
   transparently  and that no results should be changed along the way and
   that  the  commission  is not going to protect anyone who breaches the
   law during the elections,â said Dazan.

   Meanwhile,  analysts  say  the opposition could force the presidential
   election  into  a  run-off  despite  the  support  incumbent President
   Goodluck  Jonathan  and  his  ruling  Peopleâs  Democratic Party [PDP]
   enjoy.

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