See-Through Ballot Bag

An easy-to-open, zip-up bag into which Nigerians dropped their ballots for the presidential election

VOTER FRAUD Ballots were easily stolen from unzipped bags, stuffing was widespread, and a shortage of flimsy paper ballots left millions of voters without a voice. An army truck carrying thousands of filled-out ballots was found even before the polls opened.

UNHAPPY START Nigerians may have elected President Umaru Yar'Adua in a landslide, but corruption remains endemic. Rioting resulted in 65 deaths. Crude-oil prices surged worldwide on fears that supplies from Africa's largest oil-producing state would be disrupted. Yar'Adua will face unrest; for starters, he must dump the zip-up bags.