Four More Years of PDP

It looks like President Goodluck Jonathan will "win" this weekend's polls without the need for a run-off. His Peoples Democratic Party remains the largest in the Senate and the House of Representatives, albeit by a reduced margin. The PDP is likely to have deals in place with APGA, and there are rumours that the failure of the CPC/ACN talks led to a secret PDP/ACN deal that handed the Southwest to the PDP in the presidential race. Whatever happens, whatever coalitions are formed in the federal legislature, the next four years will be similar to the last twelve.

The upcoming Gubernatorial and State Assembly polls should be .... tense. From the citizens' perspective, I am not sure it matters which of the factions win the final leg. Whatever happens, we will end up with imperial Governors who rule their states like private property, and State Assemblies that either act as a rubber-stamp (if dominated by the same faction that won the Governor's mansion) or as block-headed obstructionists (if won by a different faction from that which won the Governor's mansion). Precedent suggests the possibility turnout will be lower than turnout for the federal races these past two weekends.

Life will go on.

Same as usual.