ABUJA, Nigeria, April 2 (UPI) -- The first of three weekend national polls began Saturday in Nigeria, wracked by political deadly violence, government and rights officials said.
Since military rule ended in the African nation in 1999, there have been national elections in 2003 and 2007, each marred by violence and the current one is no different, the BBC said.
Amnesty International said at least 20 people have been killed in demonstrations in the run-up to the election, in which 73 million people are voting over three Saturdays in April.
The vote encompasses 360 seats in the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives, and 109 seats in the Senate.
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, told a news conference in Abuja the country's aspiration to democracy wasn't happening as quickly as hoped.
"Twelve years ago, our dear country, Nigeria, returned to democratic rule and we began a journey that many expected by now would have produced a stable democratic system in which peaceful, free, fair and credible elections are routine and taken for granted," he said. "Unfortunately, this is still not the case and Nigerians are yet to reap the dividends of democracy.
