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- 2011 Elections Must Be Better than 2007 — U.S
2011 Elections Must Be Better than 2007 — U.S
- By Williams Ekanem
- Published April 4th, 2011
- Washington File
- Unrated
As the April general elections in the country gathers momentum, the United States insist it must be better than that of 2011.
In a conference call with Nigerian Journalists last week on the elections, Ambassador Johnny Carson, Assistant Secretary for African Bureau, said that the 2007 elections was very flawed and the government must work to reverse the trajectory of flawed elections.
Carson stated that Nigeria must use the 2011 elections to demonstrate to its citizens and the international community that it has the capacity to hold credible elections. This is because, according to him, if the elections fail, the confidence and credibility of the nation would wane.
“It is absolutely important that does not happen. This is an opportunity for Nigeria to demonstrate its capacity to manage and hold democratic election which is the desire of the people.”
Commenting on the pledged support of the United States, the Ambassador disclosed that the United States through USAID had since given $30 million to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for technical assistance and effecting the necessary reforms.
The envoy pointed out that the U.S. regards Nigeria as one of the two most important countries in sub Saharan Africa, a situation which makes the elections very important to the U.S.
Commenting on the spate of violence that has characterized the elections, Carson said although the U.S. is aware that virtually all elections in the country are characterized by violence, but even before actual voting there has been too much violence leading to the April 2011 elections.
Pointing out that there is no violence has no place in democratic societies, he hoped that such violence would not be perpetuated on election days, warning that voters should not be subjected to intimidation, advising the federal government to take special care to areas prone to violence. “We also do not want to see violence carried out against any candidate in any region and we call on security agencies to do everything they possibly can to ensure that no candidate is subjected to harassment, intimidation or political violence.”
The U.S. envoy commended INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega for doing what he calls “an enormous job.” He therefore enjoined those around the INEC chairman to follow his footsteps.
“We hope that all of those around him (Jega) will follow his able leadership and be able to execute the kind of things that he wants to do to make this a success. We are looking very closely at the state level officials and to make sure that they know that their activities are being scrutinized as closely as those of the activities on the national levels,” he said. As the most populous country in Africa, a major contributor to United Nations Peace Keeping Force, Carson said all must work to get it right with the elections this time around. He emphasized that Nigeria is one of the largest supplier of crude oil to the United States, sometimes ranking third or fourth highest and that American oil companies are major investors in Nigeria oil industry.
In a conference call with Nigerian Journalists last week on the elections, Ambassador Johnny Carson, Assistant Secretary for African Bureau, said that the 2007 elections was very flawed and the government must work to reverse the trajectory of flawed elections.
Carson stated that Nigeria must use the 2011 elections to demonstrate to its citizens and the international community that it has the capacity to hold credible elections. This is because, according to him, if the elections fail, the confidence and credibility of the nation would wane.
“It is absolutely important that does not happen. This is an opportunity for Nigeria to demonstrate its capacity to manage and hold democratic election which is the desire of the people.”
Commenting on the pledged support of the United States, the Ambassador disclosed that the United States through USAID had since given $30 million to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for technical assistance and effecting the necessary reforms.
The envoy pointed out that the U.S. regards Nigeria as one of the two most important countries in sub Saharan Africa, a situation which makes the elections very important to the U.S.
Commenting on the spate of violence that has characterized the elections, Carson said although the U.S. is aware that virtually all elections in the country are characterized by violence, but even before actual voting there has been too much violence leading to the April 2011 elections.
Pointing out that there is no violence has no place in democratic societies, he hoped that such violence would not be perpetuated on election days, warning that voters should not be subjected to intimidation, advising the federal government to take special care to areas prone to violence. “We also do not want to see violence carried out against any candidate in any region and we call on security agencies to do everything they possibly can to ensure that no candidate is subjected to harassment, intimidation or political violence.”
The U.S. envoy commended INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega for doing what he calls “an enormous job.” He therefore enjoined those around the INEC chairman to follow his footsteps.
“We hope that all of those around him (Jega) will follow his able leadership and be able to execute the kind of things that he wants to do to make this a success. We are looking very closely at the state level officials and to make sure that they know that their activities are being scrutinized as closely as those of the activities on the national levels,” he said. As the most populous country in Africa, a major contributor to United Nations Peace Keeping Force, Carson said all must work to get it right with the elections this time around. He emphasized that Nigeria is one of the largest supplier of crude oil to the United States, sometimes ranking third or fourth highest and that American oil companies are major investors in Nigeria oil industry.
