Vote counting is under way in Nigeria
Due to logistical problems and some
cases of violence, polls have been put back to a later date in a few areas. President
Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is seeking a second term. His main challenger is former
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, 72.
The election had been due last week but was delayed at the last minute.
The election had been due last week but was delayed at the last minute.
Whoever wins
in Africa's most populous nation and largest economy will have to address power
shortages, corruption, security threats, and an economic slowdown.
President
Buhari cast his ballot in his hometown of Daura in the northern state of
Katsina. Asked if he would congratulate his rival if he lost, he said: "I
will congratulate myself."
Mr Abubakar, a
business tycoon, also said he was confident of victory.
The main results centre is expected
to open at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT) in the capital, Abuja, but final
results are not expected until Monday at the earliest.
Most of the
country was calm but there were reports of attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist
militant group in the north, and voter intimidation and attempts to steal
ballot boxes from some polling stations, especially in the southern states of
Rivers, Lagos and Anambra.
Two people were arrested in the
Surulere district of the commercial capital, Lagos, after voters were attacked
by a group of young men "brandishing weapons: cutlasses, axes and
stakes", one witness told the BBC.
"What they were saying was
that if you were not [voting for the ruling party] APC, you'll be
attacked," Ralph Onodike, who sustained an arm injury, told the BBC.
The
Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) said that voting had not been
possible in about 8,500 of the 120,000 polling stations around the country,
reports the AFP news agency.
But Inec official Festus Okoye said
the commission was "generally satisfied with the process and the
procedures for the conduct of these present elections". He said 68% of
polling units had opened by 10:00, according to Reuters news agency.
The initial vote was rescheduled in
a dramatic press conference in the early hours of Saturday 16 February, just
five hours before polls were due to have opened.
Voters were also choosing members
of the House of Representatives and Senate
The candidate
with the most votes is declared the winner in the first round, as long as that
person gains at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states.
There are 73 registered candidates
in the presidential election, but campaigning has been dominated by the two
political giants and the established party machines behind them.
The
president's All Progressives Congress (APC) has promised to take the country to
the "next level", arguing that in his first four-year term Mr Buhari
has done a lot of "foundational work" that may not be immediately
obvious.
Mr Abubakar and his People's
Democratic Party have pledged "to get Nigeria working again", saying
that the president has wasted the last four years.
Both men are from the mainly
Muslim north of the country. While they are in their 70s, more than half of
Nigeria's 84 million registered voters are under 35.
What are the
main issues?
Nigeria is
Africa's largest oil producer but corruption and a failure to invest the
proceeds from the industry have hampered development in the country.
It slipped
into a recession in 2016 and a slow recovery has meant that not enough jobs
have been created to cope with the large number of young people coming into the
employment market. Currently nearly a quarter of the working age population is
unemployed.
Election in numbers
§
73 million have voters' cards
§
51% of the electorate under the age of 35
§
73 registered presidential candidates
§
120,000 polling stations
Mr Buhari has quelled a militant Islamist rebellion in
the north-east of the country, but Boko Haram remains active. There has also
been an upsurge in violence in the country's Middle Belt as traditional herders
and more settled farmers have clashed.
Until 1999 Nigeria was governed by either short-lived
civilian administrations or military rulers. But this year marks 20 years since
the return of democracy. Mr Buhari was elected in 2015 - the first time an
opposition candidate had defeated an incumbent to become president.
Source: BBC News
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