The United States said Thursday it is “disappointed” with a third delay in legislative elections in some parts of Nigeria because of logistical problems.
“We share the disappointment of the electoral commission and the Nigerian people that this important electoral event had to be postponed,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
“And we renew our call for credible and transparent elections in this critically important country,” he added.
“We believe Nigeria has an historic opportunity to allow the Nigerian people to elect their local, state and national representatives in a climate free of violence and intimidation and we hope that opportunity won’t be lost,” he said.
Nigeria’s electoral agency on Thursday announced a third delay in legislative polls in some parts of the country after it failed to sort out logistical problems in time for the weekend vote.
The independent electoral commission chief Attahiru Jega told reporters that “the postponed elections affected only about 14 percent of all senatorial districts and 13 percent of federal constituencies.”
The National Assembly election, now set for Saturday, has already been postponed twice due to widespread organizational problems.