US, France welcome Jonathan victory; ask for improvement
US, France welcome Jonathan victory; ask for improvement
United States President, Barack Obama and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy have joined other world leaders to congratulate President-elect, Goodluck Jonathan.
But they condemned post-election violence in parts of Nigeria.
They also said they expect improvements in the electoral process when the governorship election comes up on April 26.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on behalf of Obama that the international community will closely watch the gubernatorial election. Obama called on all Nigerian stakeholders to support a credible and peaceful electoral process.
He said candidates, political parties, and supporters should respect the results of the election and seek administrative and legal redress of any grievances.
Obama also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to transparently review and take appropriate and transparent action on all allegations of electoral malpractices.
These include "under-age" voting, violence and intimidation, ballot stuffing, and inordinately high turnout in some areas of the country.
