boss, you are so naive! of course elections that are one sided are considered "free and fair!" like kenya's 2002 election, the 2 referendums. the issue is - what happens when its too close to call? Nigeria is far from being a true democracy, a true democracy is where people respect the institutions of and that cannot be detected from a one sided win!
the only test is if Goodluck johnson had 49% and had spent a load of cash in the campaign and the some other fellow had 51% in a second round voting and people accepted the electoral commission's decision! that would be a TRUE DEMOCRACY! bila hiyo, unajidanganya! politics in africa is too highstaked.

Ah, I see you are the breath of fresh air we all need...logic mired in "how it has always been" rather than seeking to rise to "what it should be".

Naive or not, my friends and colleagues in Nigeria, who are on the ground and have been since the last election, concur that this is a win for democracy. So, feel free to foam at the mouth and pontificate about what you think true democracy is....even with a little bloodshed,,,it it a better model of democracy than we have in Kenya...

@Djinn, when its one sided, its easy for everyone to call it, and people to claim its democracy (we were there in 2002 remember?) and thats not a test, the test is something like US election 2000. not a 70% win.
p.s. democracy is not the opposition winning either, its the ability and maturity of the people of a country to accept results as given by the institution in place regardless of how bitter they are after all checks and balances systems in place and working.

...too early to say...Violence has started in the North...

Democracy is gaining ground in nigeria yes. However: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13107867

Riots galore.

negative ethnicity is the biggest problem in Africa. Ghana was able to have peaceful polls though.

@Djinn, you spoke too soon ma broda!!

and just to clarify, i wrote "relatively calm and transparent elections" - for those keen on using numbers, would you like to offer a formula to show how violent their outcome is?

perhaps deaths per capita? Kenya saw 1000 dead for a population of 40 million....so I suppose if Nigeria saw 3000 dead for a population of 150 million then its still a better election?

Lets not go back to the old way of thinking. I am not alone is asserting that this is Nigeria best election and Jonathan Goodluck IS a GREAT candidate. I have been to Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) about 10 times in the last 12 months and have been gauging the mood on the ground. Goodluck has support both in the North and the South. The only reason we cannot have a 48-52 situation is because he is the only candidate with a very very broad agenda for ALL Nigerians. he is without certain inhibitions if you like...

But not necessarily an undemocratic one....there will always be fire brands who cannot accept defeat and will foment disquiet even if its the gesture of the vanquished.

I am not for violence...but it will happen.

Democracy is not the absence of violence but I believe its the public trust on institutions.

Nigeria violence will obviously be concentrated on the muslim north since they are angry a Christian is winning in an election where a gentleman's agreement[remember our own MOU ] dictates a Muslim be elected a president due to the rotation agreement.

In the US we saw how Al-Gore and Bush had a tussle on florida election the supreme court had to intervene to calm the tension that was brewing.

In africa the problem come when forming our institutions like in Kenya we dont have a credible justice system leave alone the legislature.