Information on elections held in Taraba State on 26 April 2003 could not be found among the sources consulted; however, Taraba State held National Assembly elections on 12 April 2003, presidential and gubernatorial elections on 19 April 2003 and State Houses of Assembly elections on 3 May 2003 (INEC 2003a). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), authorized by the Electoral Act of 2002 to organize federal and state elections in Nigeria, reserved 26 April 2003 as a possible run-off date for the presidential and gubernatorial elections, although it was not needed (ibid.).

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) swept the National Assembly elections by winning all three senatorial seats with 56.33 per cent of the vote (ibid. 16 Apr. 2003a) and five of the six federal constituencies in the House of Representatives that had reported their results with 61.96 per cent of the vote (ibid. 16 Apr. 2003b). In the gubernatorial election, PDP candidate, Reverend Jolly Tevoru Nyame, and his deputy, Uba Maigari Ahmadu, prevailed with 84.20 per cent of the vote (ibid. 23 Apr. 2003). In the House of Assembly elections for Taraba State, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) secured one seat while the PDP captured 20 of the 23 others, with Yorro, Ussazlikam and Kashimbila constituencies not reporting as of 6 May 2003 (ibid. 6 May 2003).

According to sources consulted, the resident electoral commissioner for Taraba State, Chindi Wihiolca (Daily Trust 25 June 2003; INEC 2003b), invalidated the results of the Ussazlikam elections because the electoral officer, who was unable to attend the election and had asked the returning officer to conduct the election instead, had dissociated himself from the results (Daily Trust 25 June 2003). However, in June 2003, an Election Tribunal overturned INEC's ruling and declared Shamaki Garba Asifa of the National Democratic Party (NDP) winner of the election (ibid.).

Reports specifically stating when the various election results for Taraba State were officially reported could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, INEC issued guidelines for the election process that included procedures for closing polls, counting and collating votes, and issuing certificates of return (INEC 2003c). Additional information on the election process, including how results are to be declared and posted, can be found in the Electoral Act of 2002 http://www.inecnigeria.org/2002_Electoral_Act/Electoral_Act_2002.htm

Specific references to incidences of electoral fraud and the intimidation of election officials in the Taraba State elections were limited (TMG 21 Apr. 2003, 3, 6; IRIN 21 May 2003; Daily Trust 28 May 2003); however, international election observer groups did report "serious irregularities" (EU EOM 5 May 2003), "major shortcomings" (COG 2003) and "fundamental flaws" (NDI 14 Apr. 2003) in the country's election process.

In its preliminary report on the gubernatorial and presidential elections, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of 170 human rights and civil society organizations that monitored the elections through 10,000 trained observers, reported the following irregularities in Taraba State (21 Apr. 2003, 1):

In Puje Ward, Kofar Inuwa Babaji Polling Unit (Code 001) in Taraba State, prospective voters held polling officers hostage and refused to vote because they did not have enough ballot papers to correspond with the number of names on the voters register at the centers. ...

In many centers in Taraba State, thugs armed with knives, daggers, guns, and cutlasses attacked polling centers and snatched ballot boxes. In one case in Kachalla Sembe Polling Station (Code 007) in Jalingo Local Government Area, following reports lodged at the police headquarters by observers, about 30 armed policemen were deployed to restore law and order. ...

At the Auje Kofar Ajikudu Polling station (Code 007) in Taraba State, a TMG observer witnessed a lot of underage voting ... (TMG 21 Apr. 2003, 3, 6).

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a group founded by emirs, chiefs and former Heads of State to promote peaceful co-existence among the states of northern Nigeria (ACF n.d.), called for the elections to be "'discarded in their totality'" citing "several instances of electoral malpractices especially in Gombe, Adamawa, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Benue, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states as well as the Southeast and Southsouth" (Daily Trust 28 May 2003).

Muhammadu Buhari, ANPP's presidential candidate, filed a court petition to annul the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo claiming "widespread vote rigging and other irregularities" (IRIN 21 May 2003). The petition also cited the riding of Rafin Kanda ward in north-eastern Taraba State as a case where election officials reported a voter turnout of 100 per cent despite an absence of voting (ibid.).

Information on a press conference called to denounce accusations of election fraud could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). n.d. "Genesis of Arewa Consultative Forum." http://www.arewaconsultativeforum.com/acf%20about%20us.htm [Accessed 11 Sept. 2003]

Commonwealth Observer Group (COG). 2003. "Final Report: Nigeria Elections 2003." http://www.unnigeriaelections.org/observer_reports/may/15/art1.htm [Accessed 11 Sept. 2003]

Daily Trust [Abuja]. 25 June 2003. Isah Umar Gusau. "Tribunal Defies Electoral Committee Over Ussa Assembly Election." http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200306250306.html [Accessed 12 Aug. 2003]

_____. 28 May 2003. Sani Babadoko. "ACF Backs Call for Interim Govt." http://www.mtrustonline.com/dailytrust/acf28052003.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM). 5 May 2003. "Nigeria State Houses of Assembly Elections 2003. Also Covering the Period Between the Presidential and Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly Elections. Third Preliminary Statement." http://www.unnigeriaelections.org/observer_reports/may/5/art1.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 6 May 2003. "Taraba: State Assembly." http://www.inecnigeria.org/2003elections/results/state/mainframepage.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

_____. 23 April 2003. "Taraba State: Gubernatorial Election." http://www.inecnigeria.com/2003elections/results/gubernatorial/mainframepage.htm [Accessed 12 Aug. 2003]

_____. 16 April 2003a. "Taraba State: Senate." http://www.inecnigeria.org/2003elections/results/senate/taraba.htm [Accessed 9 Sept. 2003]

_____. 16 April 2003b. "Taraba State: House of Representatives." http://www.inecnigeria.org/2003elections/results/horeps/taraba.htm [Accessed 9 Sept. 2003]

_____. 2003a. "The 2003 General Election Time Table." http://www.inecnigeria.org/2003elections/schedule.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

_____. 2003b. "Resident Electoral Commissioners." http://www.inecnigeria.org/aboutinec/biographyrecs.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

_____. 2003c. "INEC Guidelines." http://www.inecnigeria.org/2003elections/electoral_publications/inec_guidelines.htm [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). 21 May 2003. "Opposition Petitions Court to Nullify Obasanjo's Election." http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200305210082.html [Accessed 9 Sept. 2003]

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). 14 April 2003. "Preliminary Statement of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Election Observer Delegation to Nigeria's April 12 National Assembly Elections." http://www.unnigeriaelections.org/observer_reports/april/15/art1.htm [Accessed 11 Sept. 2003]

Transition Monitoring Group (TMG). 21 April 2003. "Preliminary Report on the Gubernatorial and Presidential Elections Held on Saturday, April 19, 2003." http://www.tmgng.org/Documents/Preliminary%20Report%20of%20the%20Transition%20Monitoring%20Group%20(Presidential).doc [Accessed 10 Sept. 2003]

Africa Confidential

Africa Research Bulletin

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Internet sites, including:

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The Carter Centre

Centre for Democracy and Development

Daily Times of Nigeria

Federal Government of Nigeria

Human Rights Watch (HRW). April 2003. Vol. 15, No. 9. "Testing Democracy: Political Violence in Nigeria."

The Nigeria Congress

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Newswatch Nigeria

Stanford University

United Nations Electoral Assistance Project, Nigeria

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