Obasanjo ahead as opposition cries fraud

PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo took a commanding lead in early returns from voting that could bring Nigeria’s first successful transition from one civilian government to another, but the main opposition party claimed the vote was rigged and a “huge joke”.

With more than 20 million votes counted in 21 of Nigeria's 36 states and the federal capital territory, Obasanjo had 66% of the votes compared with 27% for Muhammadu Buhari, a former ally.

Buhari's campaign spokesman, Sam Nda-Isai, said his party rejected the results.

"The entire so-called election is a huge joke," Nda-Isai said. "As far as we are concerned, democracy has failed."

Buhari and other party leaders will meet in the next few days to decide a course of action, the spokesman said, declining to speculate whether that could involve massive protests as opposition officials earlier warned.

Obasanjo's campaign spokesman, meanwhile, called the results "a victory for the entire country".

"The people have spoken," Akin Osuntokun said, dismissing opposition threats as "the inability of losers to accept defeat gracefully."

Nigeria's election commission promised to cancel results in areas with proven cases of fraud.

"As far as we are concerned, (so far) there has been no rigging," Abel Guobadia, the election commission chairman, said on Sunday.The election was a major test of whether democracy has taken root since Obasanjo was elected four years ago, ending 15 years of brutal military rule.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has never seen a civilian government successfully hand over power to another. Though it is one of the world's largest oil exporters, it is desperately poor and has a history of coups and unrest.

Obasanjo was once a military ruler, but he traded his uniform for traditional robes and ran for election in 1999. In Saturday's vote, he faced 19 challengers, including Buhari. The two former army men were once close colleagues, but their relationship soured after Obasanjo accused Buhari of mismanagement.

Police and soldiers patrolled some cities, fearing unrest. In the central town of Bukuru, police fired tear gas and bullets in the air to disperse hundreds of Buhari supporters marching through the streets carrying tree branches a common West African protest symbol. Demonstrators accused an incumbent governor of using fraud to win a second term. No results have been announced there so far.

The vote was marred by a shooting at a polling booth in the oil-producing Niger Delta, the scene of a month of ethnic and political violence that has left more than 100 people dead. Six were killed in the attack, election monitors said.

Nearly half of Nigeria's 126 million people registered for the ballot in 36 states and the capital. It was unclear how many voted, though officials said turnout was strong.