| Parliament name |
National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Representatives
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 21 April 2007
26 April 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Parliamentary elections were held in parallel with the presidential polls on 21 April 2007. Elections in six senatorial districts were postponed to 26 April following allegations of malpractices.
The presidential elections
which were contested by 25 candidates
marked the first transfer of power between civilian presidents since the country gained independence in 1960. Eighteen opposition parties
which had initially threatened to boycott the elections in a move to invalidate the results of the local elections held on 14 April
eventually participated in the elections. Outgoing President
Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo
whose People's Democratic Party (PDP) won a landslide victory in the 2003 general elections
admitted that there had been flaws in the 2007 local elections and urged election officials to prevent rigging in the general elections.
The elections were held against a background of political turmoil following the Senate's rejection
in May 2006
of proposed constitutional amendments to allow Mr. Obasanjo to run for a third term. The amendments had been opposed by Mr. Obasanjo's Vice President
Atiku Abubakar. Relations between the two worsened when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accused Mr. Abubakar of embezzling public funds. In September 2006
he defected from the ruling PDP and formed a new coalition called the Action Congress (AC)
which comprised small parties that had not contested the previous elections. He was subsequently expelled from the PDP and dismissed from his vice presidential post by President Obasanjo. This decision was overturned by the Supreme Court.
In all
25 political parties participated in the 2007 parliamentary elections. Both the ruling PDP and the main opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) pledged to fight corruption. The leading contenders in the presidential polls were Mr. Umaru Yar'Adua
the PDP nominee and the ANPP's Muhammadu Buhari
a former military ruler who had come second in the previous elections in 2003. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) initially barred Mr. Abubakar's candidature based on the pending allegations of corruption. However
the Supreme Court nullified the INEC's decision on 16 April and allowed Mr. Abubakar's presidential bid. In the meantime
the ANPP and the AC formed an electoral coalition called the "Granite Alliance"
which aimed to defeat the ruling PDP. However
neither presidential candidate of the two parties was willing to step aside in favour of the other. Consequently
the opposition alliance remained weak. Some 200 people reportedly died in election-related violence during the campaigning period.
Many of the 120
000 polling stations opened late as a result of logistical problems and a number of ballot papers were reportedly stolen.
The INEC did not publish the official turnout figure for the parliamentary elections. However
it did reveal that over 35 million of the country's 60 million registered voters turned out at the presidential polls.
The Commonwealth Observer Group
while welcoming the competitive nature of the elections
recommended improving voter registration and voting secrecy. The US-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
presided over by former US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright
described the elections as a "failed process"
criticizing delays and polling stations that either closed early or failed to open at all.
The final results gave a higher majority to the PDP compared to the 2003 elections. It won 260 seats (up from 223) in the House of Representatives
and 85 (up from 76) in the Senate. The ANPP lost seats in both chambers
taking 62 seats in the House (down from 96 seats) and 16 (losing nine) in the Senate. The AC took 32 and six seats respectively. Only 80 members of the House of Representatives and 25 senators were re-elected. The number of women elected to both chambers increased from four to nine in the Senate
and 22 to 25 in the House.
In the presidential elections
Mr. Yar'Adua (PDP) was declared the winner with 70 per cent of the votes
ahead of his rivals Mr. Buhari (ANPP) and Mr. Abubakar (AC). The ANPP and the AC challenged the election results
which were also brought into question by many international observers
including the European Union.
On 5 June
the newly elected National Assembly held its first session. Ms. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh (PDP) was elected Speaker of the House of Representative
becoming the first woman to assume the post. The Senate elected Mr. David Mark (PDP) as its new President.
In the meantime
on 29 May
Mr. Yar'Adua was officially sworn in as President
and pledged to form a government of national unity
urging the ANPP
the AC
and the Progressive Alliance (a small party which won three seats in the House
and one in the Senate) opposition parties to join the new government. The President's proposal reportedly divided opinion among ANPP and AC members. On 27 June
the ANPP and the Progressive People's Alliance (PPA) agreed to join the PDP-led government following an agreement to review the electoral process and the Constitution. However
on 6 July
the AC turned down President Yar'Adua's proposal
arguing that the government had stolen its mandate. On 26 July
the new government was sworn in by President Yar'Adua.
In September
House Speaker Olubunmi Etteh was accused of spending US$ five million on home renovations and buying 12 cars. She subsequently resigned on 30 October 2007 and was replaced by Mr. Dimeji Saburi Bankole (PDP) on 1 November. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 (from/to) | 21 April 2007
26 April 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Action for Change (AC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Progressive People's Alliance (PPA) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Accord |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) |
85
|
|
|
|
|
| All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) |
16
|
|
|
|
|
| Action for Change (AC) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Progressive People's Alliance (PPA) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Accord |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
100
9
8.26%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
| Source: National Assembly (28.08.2007) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
