Nigerians register to vote

The vote will be the first under civilian rule for 20 years

By Dan Isaacs BBC, Lagos

Voter registration is taking place across Nigeria ahead of elections in April.

Across the country, registration centres have opened for business once again.

OLUSEGUN OBASANJO

1937: Born in south-west; a Christian and a Yoruba

1976-79: Military ruler

1995-98: Jailed by military regime

1999: Elected president

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Over the next three days, Nigerians who were unable to get their voter¿s cards the first time around, now have a second chance.

There are an estimated 60 million people eligible to vote in the country, and the process of identifying them has been dogged by controversy.

Last September, the electoral commission distributed as many as 70 million registration cards to electoral centres, more than enough for every one of the country¿s eligible voters.

But, unaccountably, large numbers of these disappeared and the process ended in confusion and disarray.

Now, with just three months to go before the polls, the electoral commission will need to collate all the data on their computerised system, from this latest registration process and last, into a credible voters' roll.

Scams

This is a mammoth task.

MUHAMMADU BUHARI

Military ruler of Nigeria from 1984 to 1985

Deposed in a coup

Poor human rights record

Seen as honest

Muslim from northern Nigeria

Running mate is Chuba Okadigbo, from south-east

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Already the commission says it has identified two million illegal applications, and the police in Lagos last week uncovered a scam to print as many as five million fake voters' cards.

And this in not the only controversy hanging over these elections. President Olusegun Obasanjo, standing for a second term of office, is having to defend himself and his party against accusations of malpractice.

The man Mr Obasanjo beat in the party primaries, Alex Ekwueme, has lodged an appeal in the High Court to have the party selection process re-run, without Mr Obasanjo as a candidate.

Whilst this is unlikely to succeed, it is undoubtedly a foretaste of the legal battles and bitter arguments that lie ahead, not just in the presidential race, but at all levels in these elections.