Voter registration starts nationwide

The registration of eligible voters started on Thursday throughout Nigeria, ahead of upcoming general elections, with officials warning that people who engage in electoral malpractices will be prosecuted. A schedule released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria outlined that the exercise is due to be held for nine hours each day over the next 10 days in 120,000 centres nationwide. At least 60 million voters aged 18 years and above (in an estimated population of 120 million) are expected to be registered during that period. "Heavy penalties involving both fines and imprisonment await those who indulge in multiple registration," warned Abel Guobadia, chairman of INEC. "It follows that such people will not only be disenfranchised but will also be criminally prosecuted." Tight security has been put in place at registration centres in an attempt to minimise problems with the exercise. All six registered political parties are expected to have observers in attendance to ensure transparency in the compilation of voter lists. INEC said it would provide Nigerians with a computerised voters register for the first time in the country's history, in a bid to eliminate tampering and ensure free and fair elections. Voter registration was to have been completed in time for local elections at the end of April, but was delayed after INEC complained that it had not received the funding required from the Nigerian government. The polls were then rescheduled to 10 August, and later deferred indefinitely. Further delays resulted from legal wrangling between INEC and new parties denied registration, and therefore the right to contest the elections. However, the last obstacle to voter registration was overcome on Wednesday when a High Court overruled the objection of five unregistered parties. The five had last month obtained an Appeal Court ruling that found INEC's reasons for not registering them to be unconstitutional. INEC filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, and the High Court decided on Wednesday that it could not interfere in the matter of the registration because it was already before the Supreme Court. The delays and confusion surrounding the electoral process have cast doubts over the first general elections scheduled since Obasanjo's victory at the polls ended more than 15 years of military rule in Nigeria in 1999.