nigeria: Resolving Nigeria's Electoral Crisis

The outcome of the elections of April 12 and 19 has again brought Nigeria to the precipice. The elections were generally peaceful, even if not totally violence-free. There were some logistic hitches that were later smoothed out, but by and large, the elections were impressive. The jinx, it seemed, had been broken. But having peaceful elections is totally different from having free and fair elections. One does not necessarily lead to the other. The events of the last few days suggest it is too early to celebrate a successful civilian-to-civilian transition. There is every reason to be afraid for the democratic project in Nigeria, and for Nigeria itself. Lagos' independent This Day urges all Nigerian political parties to adopt a more conciliatory tone and to unite behind the effort to produce real electoral reform.