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JANUARY 28, 2010
NIGERIAN CITIZEN OBSERVATION GROUPS FIND VOTER REGISTRATION GAINING
MOMENTUM [1]
Project 2011 Swift Count (PSC), a coalition of four Nigerian civil
society groups from across the country, has released its first
preliminary findings [2] on voter registration based on reports from
approximately 1,000 observers who were deployed across all of
Nigeria's 774 local government areas.

PSC will monitor all aspects of the election process, and has started
observing the voter registration process, which began on Jan. 15 and
is scheduled to run through Feb. 5. The observers conducted a
comprehensive observation for three days during the first week of
voter registration. According to PSC, the beginning of the voter
registration period was "fraught with registration centers not
opening, equipment problems, and procedural challenges (such as
problems with the scanning of fingerprints), which were to a
significant extent addressed within the first week," but the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is gaining momentum
from what was initially a slow start. Among the report's findings:

*Only 16 percent of registration centers were observed to be open on
the first day of voter registration. While this number increased to 93
percent at the end of the first week, 16 percent of registration
centers closed early throughout the week. *The equipment used to
capture voter information worked in 42 percent of the observed
registration centers on the first day of registration and improved to
74 percent by the following week. *Attempts to intimidate or harass
people at registration centers remained low, at just 5 percent of
centers throughout the week. Disruption or interference was observed
at only 6 percent of the centers.
PSC was formed to deter fraud and help restore public trust in
Nigerian elections by monitoring the process and verifying the
official results of Nigeria's general elections scheduled for April.
NDI is providing technical support to PSC on the conduct of the swift
count. PSC will release another report at the end of the registration
period.

Many Nigerians hope that scheduled presidential, parliamentary and
local elections will mark a turning point for their country. Though
elections have been held every four years since the end of military
rule in 1999, they have been progressively marred by egregious and
pervasive fraud, making each poll less credible than the previous one.
Dissatisfaction with the last elections, held in 2007, resulted in
extensive violence that led to more than 200 deaths and diminished
citizen confidence in democratic institutions and processes.

Read more:

*Read the full report» [3] *Voter registration gaining
momentum after slow start (press release)» [4] *Coalition to
monitor vote for better elections in Nigeria» [5] *Sign up to
receive the Nigeria Election Watch newsletter» [6]
Pictured above: PSC members at headquarters take reports from
observers in the field.
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