While Nigeria's election chief promises smooth vote, his staff asks for life insurance, police
ABUJA, Nigeria — While Nigeria's election chief wanted to discuss ethics with his staffers Thursday ahead of pivotal April polls, poll workers asked about more practical concerns in the oil-rich and restive country.
Among them: How does one bribe police officers enough to pull guard duty on election day?
"If we inform the police, most of the time , they come to the area and ask you for money and for other assistance to do their job," said Michael Osayande, an election official in Niger state.
Staff from the Independent National Electoral Commission asked for life insurance and worried aloud about ethnic and religious violence during the meeting with Jega, the assistant university chancellor picked to manage the nation's election.
Those problems illuminate the tough task Jega faces, as his popular appeal alone won't be enough to manage polls in a nation where elections have been marred by rigging, intimidation and violence since it became a democracy more than a decade ago.
Lawmakers confirmed Jega, 54, as head of the electoral commission in June, giving him a year to confront a challenge gnawing at Nigeria since its independence from Britain in 1960. Corruption and troubled elections mark the nation's history in between long bouts of military rule. Politicians strive for power and the purse strings of a nation funded billions of dollars in oil revenues with little financial oversight.
Jega won praise for deciding to scrap Nigeria's infamous voter registry, which included entries such as Mike Tyson, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali. Officials used that registry in the country's 2007 election, which represented the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the nation's history. However, international observers roundly rejected the poll as being rigged and marred by thuggery.
"A credible voter's register is the foundation of a credible election process," Jega said Thursday. "We believe, now, we have a credible register, not a perfect register, but certainly a register which is substantially much, much better."
The election commission spent more than $230 million to purchase laptop computers, digital cameras and fingerprint scanners to register voters across the country in roughly 120,000 locations. But the process saw long lines and anger as the machines failed to properly take fingerprints. A follow-up period for voters to check their registration saw many unable to find the lists that were supposed to be on display.
Officials later announced 73.5 million people registered to vote, up from 61 million in the previous election. However, some critics and opposition candidates have questioned the high registration numbers, considering the problems election officials had during the process. Taken at face value, the registration numbers also imply election officials had at least an 80 per cent success rate at registering eligible voters in a country with large rural regions.
But registration remains only part of the "very difficult exercise," Jega acknowledged. On the days of the elections, officials will be largely on their own in areas where bribery and threats are rife.
President Goodluck Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party has been the only force in the nation able to manipulate the unruly polls to hold the presidency. He is running to extend his mandate in Africa's most populous nation.
Election officials also fear ethnic and religious tensions spilling over into the polls. At least 50 people have died already in election-related violence, Human Rights Watch has said. During the January registration drive, a Christian mob killed a Muslim election worker and set his body ablaze in the troubled central Nigerian city of Jos.
Jega promised workers they would get money to give police officers to pay for their meals as they guard election sites. He also said the commission would offer life insurance, which drew applause.
"These problems will be brought down to the barest, manageable levels," Jega said.
But during a January rerun gubernatorial election in Delta state, there continued to be missing polling stations and allegations of stolen ballot boxes. In that election, more than 20,000 police officers were on hand and Jega even flew by helicopter to various polling sites in the Niger Delta region.
Caught by a CNN camera crew after boarding his helicopter, Jega offered a series of reasons for the poor performance.
"No one is voting because in those areas people are taking the law into their own hands," Jega said.
"Many of our officers have been attacked, many of our voting materials have been diverted in many of these places you are talking about. So it cannot be our fault."
Come April, as voting takes place across a nation twice the size of California, Nigerians likely will put the blame on Jega if it all goes wrong.
ABUJA, Nigeria — While Nigeria's election chief wanted to discuss ethics with his staffers Thursday ahead of pivotal April polls, poll workers asked about more practical concerns in the oil-rich and restive country.
Among them: How does one bribe police officers enough to pull guard duty on election day?
"If we inform the police, most of the time , they come to the area and ask you for money and for other assistance to do their job," said Michael Osayande, an election official in Niger state.
Staff from the Independent National Electoral Commission asked for life insurance and worried aloud about ethnic and religious violence during the meeting with Jega, the assistant university chancellor picked to manage the nation's election.
Those problems illuminate the tough task Jega faces, as his popular appeal alone won't be enough to manage polls in a nation where elections have been marred by rigging, intimidation and violence since it became a democracy more than a decade ago.
Lawmakers confirmed Jega, 54, as head of the electoral commission in June, giving him a year to confront a challenge gnawing at Nigeria since its independence from Britain in 1960. Corruption and troubled elections mark the nation's history in between long bouts of military rule. Politicians strive for power and the purse strings of a nation funded billions of dollars in oil revenues with little financial oversight.
Jega won praise for deciding to scrap Nigeria's infamous voter registry, which included entries such as Mike Tyson, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali. Officials used that registry in the country's 2007 election, which represented the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the nation's history. However, international observers roundly rejected the poll as being rigged and marred by thuggery.
"A credible voter's register is the foundation of a credible election process," Jega said Thursday. "We believe, now, we have a credible register, not a perfect register, but certainly a register which is substantially much, much better."
The election commission spent more than $230 million to purchase laptop computers, digital cameras and fingerprint scanners to register voters across the country in roughly 120,000 locations. But the process saw long lines and anger as the machines failed to properly take fingerprints. A follow-up period for voters to check their registration saw many unable to find the lists that were supposed to be on display.
Officials later announced 73.5 million people registered to vote, up from 61 million in the previous election. However, some critics and opposition candidates have questioned the high registration numbers, considering the problems election officials had during the process. Taken at face value, the registration numbers also imply election officials had at least an 80 per cent success rate at registering eligible voters in a country with large rural regions.
But registration remains only part of the "very difficult exercise," Jega acknowledged. On the days of the elections, officials will be largely on their own in areas where bribery and threats are rife.
President Goodluck Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party has been the only force in the nation able to manipulate the unruly polls to hold the presidency. He is running to extend his mandate in Africa's most populous nation.
Election officials also fear ethnic and religious tensions spilling over into the polls. At least 50 people have died already in election-related violence, Human Rights Watch has said. During the January registration drive, a Christian mob killed a Muslim election worker and set his body ablaze in the troubled central Nigerian city of Jos.
Jega promised workers they would get money to give police officers to pay for their meals as they guard election sites. He also said the commission would offer life insurance, which drew applause.
"These problems will be brought down to the barest, manageable levels," Jega said.
But during a January rerun gubernatorial election in Delta state, there continued to be missing polling stations and allegations of stolen ballot boxes. In that election, more than 20,000 police officers were on hand and Jega even flew by helicopter to various polling sites in the Niger Delta region.
Caught by a CNN camera crew after boarding his helicopter, Jega offered a series of reasons for the poor performance.
"No one is voting because in those areas people are taking the law into their own hands," Jega said.
"Many of our officers have been attacked, many of our voting materials have been diverted in many of these places you are talking about. So it cannot be our fault."
Come April, as voting takes place across a nation twice the size of California, Nigerians likely will put the blame on Jega if it all goes wrong.
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