REWRITING THE HISTORY OF NIGERIA'S 2007 ELECTIONS:

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000579

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W
DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM NI ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: REWRITING THE HISTORY OF NIGERIA'S 2007 ELECTIONS:
"ADVERTORIAL" CLAIMS TRIBUNAL RULING "VALIDATES" THE RESULTS

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b
& d).


1. (C) A two-page advertising supplement in the March 24
International Herald Tribune trumpets the decision by the
Presidential Election Tribunal to uphold President Yar'Adua's
election, and includes lengthy excerpts from the official
election report of the Independent National Electoral
Commission's (INEC). The "advertorial" sings the praises of
INEC Chairman Maurice Iwu and implies that any problems
regarding the elections were the fault of former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar's departure from the ruling Peoples'
Democratic Party (PDP),and of the National Assembly's
rejection of Constitutional amendments based on "suspicion"
that former President Obasanjo was seeking a third term.
Looking to the 2011 elections, the advertorial recommends
"the full use of the electronic voting system," noting that
"the electronic voter registry is now in place." (Comment:
We, and most experienced observers here, consider this last
assertion about an electronic registry utter nonsense. The
reaction of one of our electoral partners here was: "Oh my
God; there isn't even a MANUAL registry." End comment)


2. (SBU) The advertorial also lambasts international
observers for exhibiting "an already fixed opinion and
mindset," even going so far as to suggest the European Union
observers simply recycled language from their 2003
post-election statement. In a featured interview, Iwu
maintains the media reported "what they expected to happen
rather than what happened." The article further notes that
international observers and media were reportedly "a main
source of the distorted image of the elections and the
electoral system that was perceived abroad, as they were
still (sic)taken to be credible and unbiased sources."


3. (SBU) Full text of the advertorial is available on the
website of the lobbying firm Intercom UK Ltd at
www.intercom-ltd.com/nigeria/pdf/nigeria.pdf.


4. (C) COMMENT. A full two-page spread near the center fold
(pages 10-11) of the main edition of the International Herald
Tribune must have cost the GON a sizable sum. This
gratuitous attempt to rewrite the history of Nigeria's 2007
elections appears timed to coincide with the expected
departure next week of several new Nigerian Ambassadors and
High Commissioners, including those to the US, UK and South
Africa, as well as the new GON Permanent Representative to
the United Nations. Both we and other international and
local observers concluded that the elections were "seriously
flawed," -- so flawed it is impossible to know whether or to
what extent they reflected the intent of Nigerian voters. It
is unclear whether this advertorial was paid for at the
behest of the GON or other parties. That being said, the
article is a charade; real electoral reform must happen or we
will face an uphill battle to make any genuine progress
before the 2011 elections. We will inquire behind the scenes
just who was responsible for this advertorial. If President
Yar'Adua was involved or even aware, it does not speak well
for his commitment to reforming the broken electoral system.
END COMMENT.
SANDERS