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| Acting DCM and Pol Counselor Walter Pflaumer delivering a lecture on US Elections | Full size |
On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, Political Counselor and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Walter Pflaumer lectured on “The American Presidential Election Process” at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria to give the university community a better understanding of American democracy.
The lecture at ABU was attended by a large group of students and senior faculty, including the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Shehu Usman Abdullahi.
Mr. Pflaumer explained in detail the primary election process, including the use of party caucuses, which he said has evolved over time from a process dominated by political insiders with the authority to pick delegates to the party conventions and thus determine the party's nominee, to the current grass roots-based system with the participation of ordinary American voters in the process. Even today he said, the procedures vary from state to state. “Our electoral process is a product of American history,” he emphasized. (more)
