   |
|
Misanet.com / IPS, 11 November - Nigeria should wish for an Al Gore victory in the US presidential elections, analysts have said in Lagos. Meanwhile, the situation in the United States is still unsettled, even with the recount in Florida giving Bush a confirmed lead of 327 votes. - Nigeria would wish a continuance of the policies for which the Democrats in the US White House have been known. There is a confluence of opinion between Democrats and Africa on the need for development assistance for Africans and their nations, says Tunde Babawale, a political scientist at the University of Lagos. US interests remain paramount in White House considerations, he acknowledged, but, he added, Africa did not fare as well under Republicans, the Reagan and Bush years inclusive. - Africa will be better off with a President Al Gore. He will make the difference just as much as (outgoing President Bill) Clinton has, said Obafemi Adewale, Attorney-General in the state of Ekiti, some 350 kilometres from Lagos. - There is genuine fear of a reversal of policies if Bush wins. For the sake of all of us, I hope that Gore wins so we can have a continuation of the proactive policies which the Democrats are known for in Africa, he said. He recalled that Nigeria has only been visited twice by an incumbent US President. "Both of them are Democrats, Jimmy Carter in 1978 and Bill Clinton in August this year." But Nigeria, like the rest of Africa, may have to live with Republican George W. Bush as the next president of the United States. Bush is so confident of his eventual win in the excruciatingly close elections, that he has begun putting together his transition team. His confidence stems from the fact that he is still leading in the vote for the state of Florida. Florida will determine the outcome of this presidential election. Bush won the state by some 1,700 votes in Tuesday's polls and that margin of victory triggered an automatic recount as stipulated by the state's electoral laws. The current recount, according to the US media, has put Bush 327 votes ahead of Gore with 65 of the 67 Florida counties recounted. However, there are several thousand absentee ballots which must reach the state by Nov. 17. These ballots are from army personnel and other US citizens living overseas and from travelling businesspeople. These will most certainly decide the outcome of the Florida polls. Gore, who has so far won the popular vote across the United States with some 49 percent of votes cast in his favour, was being urged Friday by the Bush campaign to concede defeat in the interest of the country. However, Gore campaign manager William Daley said Democrats would continue their efforts at recounting the ballots so that the "will of the people" will be expressed. He called the current recount which has been accompanied by allegations of fraud and hints of possible legal action, "democracy in action".
|
