Early results are coming in from Nigeria’s tightest election since the end of military rule in 1999.
Official results from South West Ekiti State show a clear victory for ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu in his strongholds.
Further results will not be formally announced until 10:00 GMT on Monday.
After widespread delays and attacks on some polling booths on Saturday, voting in some parts of the country was postponed until Sunday.
In some places, voting continued through the night.
Turnout is particularly high among young people, who make up a third of the 87 million eligible voters.
It is the largest democratic exercise in Africa.
The election saw an unprecedented challenge to the two-party system that has dominated Nigeria for 24 years.
Peter Obi from the previously little-known Labor Party, Mr. Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are considered likely winners. There are 15 other presidential candidates.
A candidate must have two-thirds of the votes and 25% of the polls in Nigeria’s 36 states to be declared the winner.
If not, there will be a run-off in 21 days – a first in Nigeria’s history.
Saturday’s vote was marred by long delays at polling stations, as well as scattered reports of ballot-box looting and attacks by armed men, particularly in the southern regions, where Mr Obi has strong support.
Dr Nkem Okoli was on his way to vote in the Lekki district of the largest city, Lagos, when masked men attacked a polling station.
“There was commotion. Bottles were flying everywhere,” she told the BBC. “They broke [the ballot box]. Officers’ phones have been stolen. Now we can’t vote.
In some regions, voting did not begin until around 18:00 local time – three and a half hours after polls closed.
First-time voter Susan Ekpoh told the BBC she spent 13 hours at her polling station in the capital, Abuja, only leaving at midnight.
When it got dark, election officials said they needed light to see what they were doing, so she and others used their car headlights to illuminate the proceedings.
Southern Bayelsa state is among the areas where voting has been delayed until Sunday – it is not clear how many parts of the country have postponed voting.
Source: BBC
| Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for the accuracy of their content. Please report any inappropriate content to us and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Featured video
