Nigeria's centrist People's Democratic Party (PDP) won a huge lead over eight rivals after local elections at the weekend and emerged as the dominant force in the military's plan to restore civilian rule.
The Commonwealth, which suspended Nigeria in 1995 for abusing human rights and failing to restore democracy, said it was satisfied with the conduct of the vote and delighted at public enthusiasm.
Six parties appeared unlikely to win registration from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to qualify for parliamentary and presidential ballots before the military ruler, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, steps down next May.
The PDP, led by veteran politicians who took a stand against the late dictator, Sani Abacha, won about 60 per cent of councils based on results from 647 of the total 774 local government areas.
In second place, with about 25 per cent, was the right-wing All Peoples' Party (APP) and behind it the southwest-based Alliance for Democracy, positioned to the left of centre.
The first three parties qualify automatically, but those that fall behind need to win 5 per cent of the vote in two-thirds of the states or lose their right to contest.
Turnout was generally high for the elections, which marked the first step in Gen Abubakar's scheme to ease the army's grip on power, held for all but 10 years since independence from Britain in 1960.
Voting passed off peacefully in most of the country of at least 108 million people from more than 250 ethnic groups, but local newspapers said up to 14 people died in several incidents - most in the oil-producing Niger delta where clashes occur almost daily.
"I congratulate the chairman of INEC . . . and his colleagues for the successful conduct of this first phase of the electoral programme, which bodes well for the elections still to come," said the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Mr Emeka Anyaoku, a Nigerian, in a statement from London.
Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth after Abacha ordered the execution of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists.