The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– Opposition concern –
Africa’s most populous nation and leading oil producer goes to the polls to elect a new president and parliament on February 16. The result is expected to be close.
Buhari’s main challenger is former vice-president and fellow Muslim northerner, Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
In 2011, Buhari, then candidate for the Congress for Progressive Change party, unsuccessfully made a court challenge to nullify the result of the election won by the PDP’s Goodluck Jonathan, alleging widespread fraud.
Concern has already been raised about rigging this time round and both main parties have been accused of trying to buy permanent voter cards at recent gubernatorial elections.
The PVCs contain personal and biometric information and are scanned by electronic readers at polling stations, allowing voters to cast their ballot.
In December, Buhari refused to give assent to an electoral reform bill, which included a provision to make the use of card readers compulsory in a move to make it harder to rig.
At the time, the president said any new rules would cause “confusion and disruption” so close to the vote.
Abubakar said he viewed the unexpected news of charges against Onnoghen with “apprehension and suspicion”, with polling day just weeks away.
He accused the Buhari administration of “pressuring an independent and self-governing arm of government with the aim of getting (Onnoghen) to resign or be pushed aside”.
“Any attempt to force Justice Walter Onnoghen to vacate his office, four weeks to an election for which the unpopular Buhari administration has shown every intention to manipulate, is a move pregnant with negative meaning,” he added.
