Africa news and blogwatch, mostly on Nigeria
It will be a couple of days, at least, before I get back to checking on the latest news from Darfur, and in the meantime, you may already have heard the news about Sudan accepting UN peacekeepers. Drima is “only slightly skeptical this time.”
Even with this slight skepticism, this time I don’t think the Sudanese government (or Omar al-Bashir’s NCP to be more specific) is trying the same old trick of buying more time by saying “yes, no problemo†only to later change their minds and say “whops, sorry but…â€
Lately we’ve been witnessing a real push to pressure Sudan and also things that indicate the high possibility of a real push occuring behind the scenes.
See the rest of his post for more details on these indications of a real push.
Now, for Nigeria. The elections for governorships and state assemblies on Saturday were marred by significant complaints.
Things went from bad to worse during the first phase of actual voting, the elections for governorships and state assemblies, held on 14 April. Three areas of vital weakness were revealed.
First, the elections demonstrated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) — always uncomfortably close to President Olusegun Obasanjo — cannot meet the organisational and logistical challenges it faces. In most parts of the country, election officers and materials did not arrive in time, leading to delayed voting or no voting at all. In some areas, Commission officials simply failed to turn up or materials ran out before all voters had cast their ballots. One community within the Federal Capital territory, Kuchingoro, had no list of voters at all.
Then the Supreme Court rules that vice president Atiku did need to be included in the polls. This victory for Atiku led to speculation about whether the election would need to be delayed, in order for new ballots to be printed. However, INEC says that it made contingency plans, and that Atiku’s name and photograph are now on the ballot. Meanwhile, opposition parties made a last ditch effort to reach unity on a candidate for Saturday’s polls, but failed to agree on a consensus candidate. Some proposed boycotting the remaining election, but others would not agree to that.