NIGERIA: Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo won the ruling party's presidential primary yesterday, easily beating three challengers and laying the groundwork for an April re-election attempt.
His victory puts him a strong position to win a second term as president, though mounting violence since he came to power in 1999 and the disillusionment of many impoverished Nigerians mean he faces considerable popular opposition.
Many analysts said Mr Obasanjo, a Christian from the south-west, won because the government packed the convention with its nominees and because of last-minute support from his deputy, Mr Atiku Abubakar, a Muslim northerner and noted power broker.
They said Mr Obasanjo's victory masked serious disenchantment, including among members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, over his inability to stem economic decline in the oil-producing country four years after he took power at the end of 15 years of military rule.
Many ordinary Nigerians, enduring severe economic hardship and facing the worst political, ethnic and religious violence for more than 30 years, had hoped the PDP, Nigeria's biggest party, would chose another candidate to give the country a fresh start. But Obasanjo supporters and senior PDP officials said the peaceful conduct of the convention proved that democracy was taking root under his leadership.
Results declared gave Mr Obasanjo 2,642 votes of the 3,514 cast at the PDP convention in Abuja. His nearest rival, former vice-president Alex Ekwueme, won 661.
Only 774 of the 3,500 delegates were elected directly, representing the country's local governments. The rest were appointees of the federal or state governments. Delegates from Benue State, whose leaders have been at odds with Mr Obasanjo because of an army massacre of hundreds of civilians in 2001, said they voted for Mr Obasanjo only after Mr Abubakar promised to ensure he listened to their complaints.
PDP sources said Mr Abubakar was also able to persuade the governors of the 21 PDP-ruled states of the federation to back Mr Obasanjo.