Your Black Bloggers The official gathering spot for black bloggers
Every week, we bring you one overlooked aspect of the stories that made news in recent days. You noticed the media forgot all about another story’s basic facts? Tweet @TheWorldPost or let us know on our Facebook page.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is scheduled to hold presidential elections on Feb. 14, yet millions of people are unlikely to be able to vote.
In order to cast a ballot in this election, Nigerians will be required to present a new voter identity card. Yet as of Wednesday, only 44 million out of the 68.8 million cards had been distributed.
In the latest effort to combat widespread electoral fraud, Nigeria introduced a new type of ID card after the last national election in 2011. Polls suggest another tight race between current President Goodluck Jonathan and the main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, who also faced off in the 2011 contest.
The failure to get the cards to voters in time has once again raised public concerns about the integrity of the election. Some have blamed the delay on incompetence at the Nigerian election commission; others accuse the body ofdeliberately helping the ruling People’s Democratic Party by not distributing cards in opposition areas. For example, in Lagos, an opposition stronghold and Nigeria’s most populous state, less than 40 percent of cards have been distributed, an election commissioner told Reuters.
