State elections set for tomorrow

Competition within political parties fielding candidates in tomorrow’s state-level elections has been intense and occasionally marked by irregularities, news agencies said. “Reports reaching the commission indicated that the primaries were beset by all forms of irregularities, intimidation and in some instances violence,” a statement from the secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), quoted by Reuters, said. The INEC statement appealed to politicians not to jeopardise the transition process through their excesses, Reuters said. The PANA news agency said the Peoples Democratic Party, the All Peoples Party and the Alliance for Democracy have fielded a total of 108 candidates for 36 state governor posts and hundreds of other candidates for the state assembly seats in tomorrow’s polls, which represent the second stage of the country’s transition to civilian rule.