Voting in Nigeria Marked by Tumult

Elections Are Hailed Despite Riots, Fraud

KANO, Nigeria, April 14 -- Ballot boxes were reported stuffed and stolen, votes bought and sold. A combination of shootings, riots and fires pushed the death toll to at least 12, police said. But by the end of a chaotic election day Saturday, many Nigerians were hailing the nationwide vote as among the most orderly in their eight-year-old democracy.

Some fear that official results, which could come as soon as Sunday, may spark new trouble. But so far, unrest has remained concentrated in the oil-rich Niger Delta and has not approached the levels of the election of 2003. In most polling stations across the country, voting proceeded smoothly, if a bit later than planned.

"Surprisingly it's been very peaceful," said police spokesman Haz Iwendi, speaking from Abuja, the capital. "We expected more violence."

At stake was control of the country's 36 states, as well as the patronage and graft traditionally available to governors and lawmakers there. The vote could also provide early indications about which party is likely to win the presidency in a second round of voting next Saturday. President Olusegun Obasanjo is stepping down in May after serving the constitutional limit of two four-year terms.

Top in the minds of many voters were quality-of-life issues. Despite years of surging government revenue in a country that is among the world's leading oil exporters, Nigerians complain that their living standards have stagnated, with rising joblessness and inflation and increasing power outages. Many blame corrupt politicians.

Baturiya Yusha'u, who sells soft drinks out of her home in the northern commercial center of Kano, says she has seen her small business suffer from months without electric power.

"It's difficult to sell because there's no electricity," said Yusha'u, 45, who was supporting the leading opposition party, the All Nigeria People's Party. "Nobody will buy if it's not cold."

Hundreds of thousands of police officers and soldiers virtually shut down Nigeria's cities, barring all but official traffic and inspecting the few vehicles still on the road. Children played impromptu games of soccer on the empty streets.

Even with Nigeria's epic traffic jams gone, logistical snags delayed the opening of polling stations across Africa's most populous country, with 140 million people and 61 million registered voters.

Voters in one opposition stronghold in Kano grew angry when election materials still hadn't arrived by 11 a.m., three hours after voting was supposed to begin. When the clear, soft-side ballot box arrived -- looking like something an American family might load up with towels and sunblock for a trip to the beach -- government worker Nasiru Garba, 41, lost his temper.

"They brought the ballot box without the ballot paper!" Garba said with a mixture of frustration and amazement. "This is definitely an effort to sabotage the interests of the public."

A half-hour later, the ballots had arrived, but there was no way to mark them. Voters were supposed to place a thumb print by the candidates of their choice, but the black ink pads had not arrived. Election officials later extended voting by several hours.