Nigeria-Parliamentary poll - With a few hours to the end of voting in Saturday's parliamentary election, local and international observers as well as politicians have hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for finally getting it right, after aborting the process midway last Saturday. INEC itself has engaged in chest-beating, expressing satisfaction with the process of accreditation and voting during Saturday's election. 'In 80 per cent of polling booths, accreditation took place promptly....and voting has actually started and is proceeding well,' INEC spokesman Solomon Soyebi told journalists in the capital city of Abuja. The turnout has been mixed, with huge turnout of voters recorded in certain states and low turnout in others. The election, which was rescheduled last week, has been generally peaceful, even though a bomb explosion that rocked the Angwa Doki polling station in the northern city of Maidugiuru left security agents and electoral officials injured.

EU Observer Alojze Peterle said he is impressed by the enthusiasm of voters to participate in the election, in spite of Friday's bomb explosion in Suleja in northern Niger State, which left 13 people - mostly ad-hoc electoral officials - dead and 50 injured.

A local observer, Olasupo Ojo, agrees, saying: 'The scenario is okay and turnout is impressive... There is improvement in early arrival of electoral officials and their materials. Accreditation process has been smooth.'

Lagos state Governor Babatunde Fashola also hailed INEC for rectifying most of the process that caused the postponement of the parliamentary poll last Saturday.

'I liken this exercise to a pilot going on a test flight. Last week, we had an aborted flight, but the crew is ready today, the pilot is ready, the passengers are on board and I think the aircraft had been fitted appropriately. So let us wait for a safe take-off and landing,’’ he told journalists after voting.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also hailed the process, saying: 'It has been so far peaceful and orderly. If what I have seen in this polling station obtains across Nigeria, I think one can definitely say we have had a free and fair election.'

On his part, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, said INEC's performance this Saturday 'is better'.

The governorship candidate of the main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in South-west Ogun state, Mr. Ibikunle Amosun, said the process has been good.

'It is better than what we had last week in terms of materials and arrival of the ad-hoc staff of INEC, but turnout is very poor,' he said.

Some would-be voters have, however, complained that they could not find their names on the voter's register.

The election is the first in a three-phase process that includes the Presidential election next Saturday and the Governorship and State Assembly election 26 April.

Pana 10/04/2011