EU election monitors condemn violation of campaign laws

Political campaign regulations outlawing negative advertisements against opponents were breached before last week's presidential elections.

Also violated was the law limiting broadcast time for political adverts, the European Union - EU - election monitoring team has said.

The team said political adverts went beyond the stipulated 60 seconds, while sponsors were not often identified contrary to the law.

The team also said state media did not comply with the law requiring equal access for parties and candidates.

In its second preliminary assessment of the polls released ahead of next week's governorship elections, the EU team said the violations might have favoured some candidates.

It noted that the state-run broadcast media allotted more coverage to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party - PDP.

It said the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) gave 80% of its coverage to the PDP, 5% to both ACN and CPC and 3% to ANPP whereas the Electoral Act required equal time for parties and candidates.

The report said the print media were more equitable but they too ran many negative campaign advertisements.