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Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, who postponed Saturday's elections
Last Saturday, February 16, elections in Nigeria were interrupted just hours before the polls began.
This was a huge inconvenience for millions of Nigerians, many of whom had traveled long distances to vote.
The vote will take place one week later, on Saturday, 23 February.
With the extra time to get ready, are things now in place for the vote?
Why was the survey postponed?
The two main parties, the ruling Pan-People Congress and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), condemned the delay and blamed each other for being involved in the elections.
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This is not the first time that voters in Nigeria are being left behind. This has occurred in the two previous presidential elections, in 2011 and 2015, and has led many to question the competence of the organizing body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This time, the committee cited several reasons for this delay:
- delays in delivery of election materials and deployment of staff
- bad weather
- Unresolved registration issues
- the destruction of election materials and the alleged sabotage
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Concerns have been expressed, delayed elections will result in low turnout
Some of the problems mentioned are not the responsibility of the electoral commission, such as the unpredictable nature of the climate in Nigeria.
But it is clear that other logistical factors must be resolved to ensure that elections run smoothly.
Voter Registration Problems
In Nigeria, each of the 84 million registered voters is required to bring themselves a permanent voting card, which is then checked at the polling station with the help of a card reader. smart.
However, many potential voters do not have PVC – and the electoral commission itself said that 11 million printed cards had not been collected.
This is a big shortage and will not be corrected until polling day – which means that millions of registered voters will not be able to vote.
Reprogramming card readers
Then there are the machines used to check electors: 180,000 smart card readers were deployed in the polling stations of the country.
All these machines were initially programmed to function only on the day of the vote originally scheduled. They therefore all had to be reprogrammed.
Inec indicates that this process is complete and the machines are ready for use.
He also claimed to have recovered 4,600 smart card readers destroyed during a fire in the state of Anambra, redistributing the devices from other states – although that may leave less emergency machinery for polling stations in other regions.
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Smart card readers used to verify the identity of voters
Keep election materials safe
The organization of elections in Nigeria is a huge logistical challenge.
It is a large country, with about 200 million inhabitants, and many areas lack adequate roads and infrastructure.
The electoral commission said that ballot papers and electoral staff would be in place throughout the country.
Inec told BBC News that sensitive election materials, such as ballots and results sheets, are being stocked at local central banks.
However, reports from local media highlighted new logistical problems and the destruction of election materials and resources.
Some election documents have even been found in bad states.
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Inec staff begins to reconfigure smart card readers ready to operate on the day of the previous election
Security challenges
Election officials work with security forces to prevent disruption of elections.
Inec maintains that the vote will take place in each of the 774 local government areas.
And international election observers say things are going in the right direction.
"I think that Inec has definitely resumed his game," said John Tomaszewski, regional director of the International Republican Institute for Africa.
However, some security concerns remain, including:
- Islamist insurgency in the north-east
- clashes between breeders in the Middle Belt
- various threats of bandits and criminal gangs in the northern regions and oil-producing states in the south
In Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, the state most affected by Islamist militants in Boko Haram, eight local administrations have set up satellite polling stations in IDP camps.
But last week, on the approach of the originally scheduled election day, Boko Haram coordinated a series of attacks and suicide attacks against military bases and a neighborhood located in the city of Maiduguri in the north-east of the country.
And Idayat Hbadan of the Abuja based Center for Democracy and Development think-tank said: "The likelihood of Boko Haram attacking in elections is high – insurgents have always expressed dislike for democracy and elections ".
Meanwhile, in other states, such as Zamfara, in the far north of Nigeria, kidnappings, killings and widespread lawlessness are also causing voters to fear.
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