Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, February, 22, 1999
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Nation/World
Few Nigerians decide to vote in national legislative elections
LAGOS, Nigeria — Confusion, boredom and voter apathy were blamed for low turnout in Nigeria's legislative elections after early indications Saturday showed as few as 10 to 20 percent of voters cast ballots in many places.
The election of 109 senators and 360 representatives for the National Assembly came one week ahead of the first presidential elections in six years and an expected return to civilian rule in May.
The Associated Press
Initial results from northern and eastern Nigeria on Sunday put the People's Democratic Party of retired Gen. Oulseug Obasanjo ahead with about one-third of the votes, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission told Nigerian radio.
Officials predicted the final results could produce a National Assembly about equally divided between the PDP, the Alliance for Democracy and the All Peoples
Obasanjo, who in 1979 became the only military ruler to ever hand over power to a civilian government, faces coalition candidate Olu Falae, a former finance minister who will represent both the Alliance and the All Peoples Party.
The first official results indicated the PDP had won 52 House and Senate seats, the Alliance 47 and the All Peoples Party 27. There were no immediate reports of serious violence or widespread fraud anywhere in the country.
Party, made up largely of politicians once loyal to former dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. Abacha's sudden death last June led to the current transition to democracy.
International observers and local newspapers said turnout Saturday was significantly lower than in earlier state and local elections. They blamed last-minute candidate selections and haphazard campaigning.
"Most of the voters did not know
Lagos, Nigeria
Rachel Kesselman/KANSAN
whom to vote for, hence the low turnout," said INEC spokesman Ayodele Folami.
It was not known how many of Nigeria's estimated 50 million registered voters cast ballots. But spot checks at polling stations by journalists confirmed that turnout was as low as 10 to 20 percent in many places, newspapers said. Officials are expecting a much higher turnout for next week's vote.
Italian phone giant spurns bid
Telecom Italia claims $58 billion takeover lacks needed facts
The Associated Press
ROME — Communications giant Telecom Italia plans to challenge Olivetti's bold $58 billion takeover bid, which, if pulled off, would be one of Europe's biggest deals ever.
After a flurry of hastily called board meetings this weekend, Telecom Italia SpA issued a terse statement claiming there were holes in Olivetti's bid.
If Olivetti's filing with Italy's stock market regulatory body, made public Saturday, fails to provide all the information required by law, then Telecom Italia would be free to try
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Telecom Italia, a former state monopoly, is the world's sixth-largest phone company, but has endured three management shakeups in the past 18 months.
While holding just 3.4 percent of common stock, the ministry has veto powers over major decisions through 2000. Specifically, the state can block an investor's acquisition of more than three percent.
to counter the bid, perhaps by taking steps to make a takeover too costly.
"The government isn't an inert spectator. It's vigilant and attentive on this affair," communications ministry undersecretary Vincenzo Vita said Sunday. "There are risks of 'denationalization' for a great
company like Telecom Italia, there are speculative risks."
Possibly complicating maneuvers is the Italian treasury ministry's so-called "golden share" in Telecom Italia, which was privatized in 1997.
Some union leaders have raised concern that such a costly operation would mean lots of job cuts.
But Olivetti's chief executive, Roberto Colaninno claimed the takeover would be an "extraordinary occasion for the entire country" and described the bid as "an industrial operation, not financial speculation."
He ruled out a hidden ally behind the bid, specifically the U.S. communications company Bell Atlantic, or Italian financier Carlo De Benedetti, a former Olivetti executive.
Olivetti's bid relies heavily on debt financing from three U.S. banks — Chase Manhattan, Lehman Brothers and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette — as well as Italy's Mediobanca.
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