LOCAL GOVERNMENT GAME - SOUTHERN STATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000261 SIPDIS LONDON FOR GURNEY, PARIS FOR NEARY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM NI SUBJECT: LOCAL GOVERNMENT GAME - SOUTHERN STATES MANEUVERING FOR ADVANTAGE ********** THIS MESSAGE CANCELLED. WILL BE RESENT UNDER NEW MRN *********** strengths of the two parties, and a victory for the AD would be what it needs to return it strongly as a major player in southwest politics. A loss for the AD could be the final nail in its political coffin. A constitutional challenge to the new LGAs could delay the elections, again, for a long period. If the States are perceived to continue to have the best legal position, the federal government could go to court one day before elections and stall the process for months. This would give officials at all levels another excuse as to why citizens have yet to receive the "dividends of democracy" they have been promised by their politicians. HINSON-JONES