Nigeria’s electoral commission will
postpone next Saturday’s presidential
and legislative elections for six weeks
to give a new multinational force time
to secure north-eastern areas under
the sway of Boko Haram, an official
close to the commission told the
Associated Press on Saturday.
Millions could be disenfranchised if
the voting went ahead while the
Islamic extremists hold a large swath
of the north-east and commit mayhem
that has driven 1.5 million people
from their homes.
Civil rights groups opposed to any
postponement started a small protest
on Saturday. Police prevented them
from entering the electoral
commission headquarters in Abuja,
Nigeria’s capital. Armed police began
deploying to block roads leading to
the building.
The Nigerian official, who is
knowledgeable of the discussions,
said the Independent National
Electoral Commission would
announce the postponement later on
Saturday. He spoke on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitivity
of the issue.
A major offensive with warplanes and
ground troops from Chad and Nigeria
already has forced the insurgents
from a dozen towns and villages in
the past 10 days. Even greater
military strikes by more countries are
planned.
African Union officials were ending a
three-day meeting Saturday in
Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital, to
finalise details of a 7,500-strong force
from Nigeria and its neighbours Chad,
Cameroon, Benin and Niger. Details of
funding, with the Africans wanting
the United Nations and European
Union to pay, may delay the mission.
Nigeria’s home-grown extremist
group has responded with attacks on
one town in Cameroon and two in
Niger this week. Officials said more
than 100 civilians were killed and 500
wounded in Cameroon. Niger said
about 100 insurgents and one civilian
died in attacks on Friday. Several
security forces from both countries
were killed.
International concern has increased
along with the death toll; some 10,000
have been killed in the uprising in the
past year compared with 2,000 in the
four previous years, according to the
US Council on Foreign Relations.
The United States has been urging
Nigeria to press ahead with the
voting. The US secretary of state, John
Kerry, visited Nigeria two weeks ago
and said that “one of the best ways to
fight back against Boko Haram” was
by holding credible and peaceful
elections, on time.
“It’s imperative that these elections
happen on time as scheduled,” Kerry
said.
Officials in President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration have been
calling for a postponement.
Any delay is opposed by an
opposition coalition fielding former
military dictator Muhammadu Buhari,
though the opposition stands to take
most votes in the north-east.
Supporters of both sides are
threatening violence if their candidate
does not win. Some 800 people were
killed in riots in the mainly Muslim
north after Buhari, a Muslim, lost
2011 elections to Jonathan, a Christian
from the south.
A postponement will give electoral
officials more time to deliver some 30
million voter cards. The commission
had said the non-delivery of cards to
nearly half of the 68.8 million
registered voters was not a good
reason to delay the vote.
