Lagos (Fides Service) - "We are deeply saddened about the twenty persons killed in clashes during the elections, but this must not make us lose sight of the overall picture, which on the whole was positive," Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos told Fides Service, with regard to presidential elections held on 19 April. The Archbishop said: "Before the elections there was deep concern about a possible wave of violence which might affect vast areas of the country. Thank God, instead, people voted with order demonstrating much patience with regard to problems of bad organisation. We are pleased about how the elections were held. Of course there were some episodes of violence but nothing compared to previous elections when there was serious disorder and a higher number of dead".
President Olusegun Obasanjo was re-elected with 60% of the votes. However the results were questioned by the main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the All Nigeria People's Party ANPP who accused the government of electoral fraud. European Union observers also reported "a series of irregularities and frauds", while Commonwealth monitors gave a more positive picture of the vote. One of them told the BBC that "in the greater part of Nigeria an authentic and on the whole effective efforts were made to allow the people to vote freely".
In the regard Archbishop Kaigama says: "Western media tend to highlight the negative aspects of Africa. In hits case too they stressed the opposition's accusations of electoral fraud. The charges will be examined by a state court which will issue a verdict on whether they are true. We are a young democracy and we still have to grow: it is easy for Europe and the United States to pronounce judgement which do not take the situation into account. Until 1999 we were still living under a military dictatorship and for many young people this was the first time they voted. Democracy needs time to take root. I think that even mature democracies have their problems: think of the contested election of the American president Bush".
Nigeria has a population of 120 million of whom 61 million are eligible voters. The 120,000 polling stations were protected by 260,000 police officers. LM (Fides Service 23/4/2003 EM lines 35 Words: 422)