Cautious optimism greets new Nigeria elections chief

* New election chief a respected academic

* Deep reform vital for credible presidential polls

* Jega is first northerner to head electoral commission

By Nick Tattersall

LAGOS, June 9 (Reuters) - The choice of a respected Nigerian academic to head the electoral commission and organise polls due by next April met with cautious optimism from political parties on Wednesday, but many said deeper reforms were needed fast.

President Goodluck Jonathan's choice of Attahiru Jega, the vice chancellor of Bayero University in the northern city of Kano, was approved by the Council of State on Tuesday and is expected to be endorsed by parliament soon. [ID:nLDE6572FT]

Jega is best known in Africa's most populous nation as a strident campaigner against military rule during his time as head of the academic staff union of universities in the 1990s.

Some Nigerians might argue the task before him now is just as challenging as his struggle against the military machine -- establishing a credible electoral system in a country which has seen few free and fair polls since independence in 1960.

But his nomination is seen as a good start.

"The nomination of Jega, an icon of democratic struggle, has restored hope and opened a vista of faith in Nigeria's electoral system ahead of the 2011 elections," said Nigeria's Mega Summit Movement, a coalition of small opposition parties.

Jonathan has made organising credible elections his main priority since he was sworn in as head of state a month ago following the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua.

He is keen to avoid a repeat of the chaotic polls which brought Yar'Adua to power in 2007. That vote marked the first transfer of power from one civilian leader to another but was so marred by fraud that observers deemed it not to be credible.

Jonathan ordered Maurice Iwu, Jega's predecessor as head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to step down two months ago. But his replacement is only the start of what is needed, analysts say.

"While he has an impressive pedigree, (Jega) will need more than that to succeed in a job that has ruined the reputation of many who occupied it," said Lai Mohammed, spokesman for the opposition Action Congress party.

"INEC under Maurice Iwu was rotten through and through. It is like a house with a structural defect. You cannot repair the house without first demolishing it," he said.

DEEPER REFORM

The Action Congress said Jega must demand at least a new voters' register before the elections, due by next April at the latest, and called for INEC commissioners with allegations of impropriety against them to be removed.

The Mega Summit urged Jega to implement the findings of an influential Dec. 2008 report on the electoral system by former Chief Justice Muhammadu Uwais, some of whose recommendations are being considered by parliament as part of a reform bill.

Jega, who was a member of the Uwais committee and will be the first northern INEC chairman, will be overseeing the most hotly contested presidential race since Nigeria's return to democracy just over a decade ago.

An unwritten agreement in Jonathan's ruling PDP party dictates that the next president should be a northerner, but Jonathan, a southerner, has not ruled himself out of the race.

His National Security Adviser Aliyu Gusau, a northerner favoured by retired northern military generals, is also widely expected to contend. Former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida and ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar have also said they will run.

Against such a fierce political backdrop, not all are convinced Jega will have the clout needed to ensure a free vote.

"Anybody who loves this country must not make the mistake of the past, that merely because somebody belongs to the university world, he can handle the complex Nigerian situation," said Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, head of the ANPP main opposition party.

"Let's see what (Jega) can do ... But retired high court judges or retired supreme court judges should have been a better option," he was quoted by Nigeria's Next newspaper as saying.

The Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms, a political lobby group, pointed out that Jega had been an INEC consultant under Iwu and questioned whether a man appointed by a potential presidential aspirant could be credible. (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Editing by Tume Ahemba)