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| Nigerians out in force for presidential vote Posted: 16 Apr 2011 06:27 AM PDT ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerians voted in masses on Saturday in what they hope will be their first credible presidential election for decades and could set an example across Africa.
Queues formed early across Nigeria, including the village of tin-roofed shacks in the Niger Delta where front-runner President Goodluck Jonathan voted and the dusty alleyway in the northern village of Daura where his main rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, cast his ballot. Across most of the country of 150 million there was no sign of the chaos and violence that has dogged past elections although two bombs panicked voters in the troubled northeastern city of Maiduguri. There were no reports of casualties. The polls pit Jonathan, the first head of state from the oil-producing Niger Delta, against Buhari, a northern Muslim with a reputation as a disciplinarian. "People are coming out massively," said Ogbu Titus, a 53-year old teacher at the courtyard of a primary school on the edge of Abuja where hundreds of people had gathered. There are more than 73 million registered voters. The African giant, home to more people than Russia, has failed to hold a free and fair presidential election since military rule ended in 1999, leaving many of its citizens with little faith in the benefits of democracy. But a relatively successful parliamentary election a week ago, deemed credible by observers despite isolated acts of violence, has renewed voter confidence. Turnout appeared to be much higher than for the parliamentary election. "There is no mago mago," said local election observer Agu Michael, 42, using the Yoruba expression for trickery in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city. Market women took advantage of the swelling crowd to sell boiled plantain bananas and meat stew. Leading a foreign observer team from the National Democratic Institute, former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark said: "Things seem to be quite orderly." GOODLUCK AND PATIENCE President Jonathan, a former zoology teacher born to a family of canoe makers, is the favourite. He is backed by the national machinery of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidate has won every presidential race since 1999. "Nigeria is now experiencing the true democracy, where we the politicians have to go to the people," said Jonathan, voting with his wife Patience and his mother before leaving in a motorcade through cheering crowds. "It can be described as a new dawn in our political revolution," Jonathan said. But Jonathan is resented by some in the north, who believe he is usurping the right of a northerner to the presidency for another four years. He inherited office after his predecessor, northerner Umaru Yar'Adua, died last year in his first term, interrupting a rotation between north and south. Buhari, a strict Muslim known for his "War Against Indiscipline", is hoping to capitalise on some of the resentment and is likely to win strong northern support despite his Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) being a young party. The former general told Reuters he feared the ruling party was trying to manipulate the vote out of desperation. "They could do anything and they are trying everything but luckily people are very sensitive this time around and they are determined to make their vote count," he said. Buhari would need to prevent Jonathan from taking at least a quarter of the votes in two thirds of the 36 states if he is to stop him winning in the first round, a feat which northern support alone is unlikely to guarantee. Fellow opposition contender Nuhu Ribadu's Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) party has its stronghold in the southwest, and could help force a run-off. But the two failed to agree a last minute alliance this week, leaving the anti-Jonathan vote split. The stakes are higher in the presidential race than the parliamentary election and the security agencies are on high alert. Land borders were closed and a curfew imposed overnight. "If Nigeria gets it right, it will impact positively on the rest of the continent and show the rest of the world that Africa is capable of managing its electoral processes," said former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who is leading an observer mission from the African Union. "If Nigeria gets it wrong, it will have a negative influence on the continent with dire consequences," he said. (Additional reporting by Shyamantha Asokan in Lagos, Joe Brock in Daura, Samuel Tife in Otuoke, Ibrahim Mshelizza in Maiduguri; Editing by Matthew Tostevin) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Syria's Assad 'faces strong challenge without reform' Posted: 16 Apr 2011 06:27 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should free all political prisoners and allow peaceful rallies to show he is serious about reform or risk provoking a stronger challenge to his 11-year rule, activists say.
While some protesters have called for the "overthrow of the regime", the call has not yet been universally adopted at protests which have spread across Syria over the last four weeks, inspired by uprisings throughout the Arab world. But the activists say that may change because anger and frustration are rising in a country ruled with an iron fist by the Baath Party for nearly half a century. Assad has tried to face down the protests using force, promises of reform, salary increases, moves to replace emergency law and concessions to minority Kurds and conservative Muslims. "These steps he has announced should have happened years ago. Now a different kind of reform is required," human rights activist Ammar Qurabi said. "First he should immediately lift the state of emergency. "There is still a chance for reforms. The chance is not lost but it's getting tighter. We want real reforms, and now." Opposition parties are too fragmented and disorganised to lead mass protests or threaten Assad's rule. For years they have called for greater freedoms but failed to mobilise Syrians who were silenced by the powerful secret police. Now activists say the momentum is coming from the grassroots and the demonstrations are organised by young people. "The people are leading us, we just support them," Qurabi said. Those same people who finally broke a barrier of fear to protest on the streets are not going to return to their houses for promises alone, activists say, and would fear prosecution if they gave up their protests while emergency law prevailed. "Under the state of emergency all these protests are against the law. The first step that should happen so people believe that the promises are for real is to lift the state of emergency," said one activist in Damascus. "The president can do that in 15 minutes. He has such a decision in his hands. It is his constitutional right. Why he is not doing that is the question," he added. Among other demands the activists said they want the abolition of article 8 from the constitution which states that the Baath Party "is the leader of the state and the society". They said it prevented the formation of other parties and was obstructing political life. Rights groups say at least 200 people have been killed since the protests started four weeks ago. Authorities blame armed groups for stirring up unrest at the bidding of outside players, including Lebanon and Islamist groups. "DIGNITY AND FREEDOM" "All that Syrians want is dignity and freedom -- we are calling for reforms," said rights activist Abdulkreem Rihawi. "People in these demonstrations are expressing their anger, frustration and objecting to their loss of rights. They do not want the fall of the regime," he said. "If no real reforms are done then the situation in Syria will be open to all options, I am not sure by then if it will be like the Egypt or the Yemen model," referring to Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who bowed to mass protests and stepped down, and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh who is clinging to power. Assad has said Syria was the target of a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife. "The authorities are living in denial until now, they are refusing to acknowledge that we are facing a crisis," lawyer Khalil Maatouk said. "Syrians deserve freedom just like Egyptians and Tunisians. They are not better than us and the authorities should understand that," he added. Syria, bordered by Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, maintains an anti-Israel alliance with Iran and supports militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, despite seeking a peace deal with Israel and the end of U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria in 2004. Assad's rule faced external pressure and isolation after the 2005 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Syria was initially blamed for the killing. Activists acknowledge such a stance has given Assad some popularity among ordinary Syrians but said that was not enough. "We know he has been targeted by the West and the pressure he was under in 2005 and during the war (between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006) but this is not convincing any more, he has to focus on the internal front and listen to the people," an activist said. The U.S. State Department said last week there are an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 political prisoners in Syrian prisons. Activists also demand economic reforms and called on Assad to put an end to corruption which has plagued the system. "Money is in the hands of a small group of people who are close to the authorities. We have reached a point where no one can actually open any business without having an official or his son as their partners," Qurabi said. Hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Douma on Friday chanted: "We want to say it openly, we do not want to see thieves anymore." (Editing by Janet Lawrence) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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