Although the relative calm witnessed following the postponement of the general elections by six weeks was unexpected by many Nigerians because of warnings by the country’s main opposition party All Progressives Congress (APC) and a huge section of Nigerians active on social media. A recent poll might have suggested believable reasons to why no protests were witnessed after the announcement of the polls postponement.
While many have attributed the peace that followed the shift in dates to call by leaders of the opposition for calm, and others said Nigerians are better informed than to engage in a protest that may be used as an excuse for the elections not to hold, the poll by leading country-specific polling services provider, NOIPolls show that there is an even split in the proportion of Nigerians who support and those who do not support the postponement of the 2015 elections.
Asked why they support the postponement, 25 percent of those who are in support said it would allow for more time to collect Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), while 20 percent cited security concerns as their reason.
The poll also show that 57 percent of people in support of the shift in dates are from the South east, while people from the north east and north west zones top the percentage of people not in support of the date shift.
The 2015 is arguably the most anticipated in the history of Nigeria’s democracy. This showed in the result of the polls, as 93 percent of respondents, who were apparently awaiting the opportunity to cast their votes, were aware of the postponement. It also goes to show, the level of media attention the coming election is enjoying due to its perceived importance to the future of the country. INEC over the weekend postponed the 2015 elections earlier slated for Feb. 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11.
See results of the poll below:
