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Ruling party takes early lead in Nigeria

LAGOS (Nigeria) APRIL 14. Nigeria's ruling party made a solid showing in legislative elections, according to partial returns on Monday. Yet more than two dozen people were killed during weekend balloting, seen as an important test for democracy in Africa's most populous nation.

The President, Olusegun Obasanjo's party won 69 seats in the House of Representatives in returns released early on Monday.

Two main Opposition parties took 52. In the Senate, the ruling party took 22 seats compared to 10 for the Opposition.

In all, some 3,000 candidates campaigned for 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 109 in the Senate.

The legislative race is a key gauge of civil tensions a week ahead of presidential elections that will pit Mr. Obasanjo — a former military ruler-turned civilian leader — against 19 Opposition candidates, including three former army Generals.

Balloting was run by civilians. In the past, military coups have scuttled Nigeria's previous attempts to hold democratic, civilian-run elections.

One election observer warned police and military to respect voters' choices.

``We are concerned that parties may try to forcibly hold on to what they could lose by the will of the people,'' said Festus Okoye, chairman of the Transitional Monitoring Group, which supplied 10,000 observers.

As officials counted ballots and the first results trickled in, Mr. Okoye spoke of a ``clear shift in voting patterns and a realignment of forces.'' — AP

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