Nigeria: Election slated for January or April 2011

Nigeria will hold presidential elections in either January or April of 2011, an electoral official said Tuesday, although voting laws remain unchanged after a 2007 poll marred by widespread fraud.

Maurice Iwu, chairman of the country's Independent National Electoral Commission, told reporters that the National Assembly would determine when the election will take place. The 2007 poll took place in April, but there has been growing pressure in Africa's most populous nation to hold the 2011 poll earlier in the year, as ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua hasn't been seen publicly since November.

Tuesday's proposal said the country would hold presidential election on either Jan. 22 or April 23, with elections for state legislatures and the National Assembly preceding it. The National Assembly must vote to set the election and has yet to offer a timetable for holding such a vote.

Yar'Adua became president after a 2007 election marred by fraud, intimidation and violence likely orchestrated by the ruling People's Democratic Party. Still, it marked the first time power transferred from one elected civilian to another in the West African country, which gained independence from Britain in 1960.

The 2011 election carries the same importance, especially after Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took over as acting president some three months after Yar'Adua left for a Saudi hospital to seek treatment for what his doctor said was a serious heart condition.

Yar'Adua promised to reform the nation's election laws after assuming power, but never pushed through any sweeping reform. Iwu said Tuesday that Nigeria is "making progress" on ensuring fair and free elections.

"A rash of criticism essentially driven by personal ambitions and a vocal minority has tended in many instances, more so as the election year draws near, to give the impression that there has been no progress," Iwu said. "Of course, nothing can be further from the truth."

Iwu said a February gubernatorial election in Nigeria's Anambra state showed the country was ready for its 150 million residents to vote. However, that poll saw at least one ballot box stolen, faulty voter rolls and long lines stopping some from casting ballots.