LAGOS: The day after the scheduled presidential election in Nigeria both late voting and counting continued.
The electoral authority INEC said the first pooled results from the 36 states were expected on Sunday.
At the same time, voting continued in several states after polling stations were delayed or unable to open on the actual election day on Saturday due to the security situation as well as logistical problems. Voters queued late into the night.
A record number of over 87 million of the approximately 220 million residents were registered to vote and had collected their eligibility cards.
In addition to the president of Africa’s largest economy, more than 400 seats in two houses of parliament are also being re-elected. The vote was accompanied by isolated attacks and raids on polling stations in different parts of the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after two terms in office.
The election is in part seen as a reckoning with his ruling APC, as both the security situation and the economic situation have deteriorated during Buhari’s eight years in office.
For the first time since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, a third party stands a good chance alongside the candidates of the two dominant parties.
The most promising of the 18 candidates for the office are Bola Tinubu from the ruling APC and Atiku Abubakar from the opposition party PDP. Peter Obi of the small Labour Party is also popular, especially in urban areas and among the youth. Meanwhile, Nigerians waited anxiously for first results on Sunday after a tight presidential election among three front runners that has energised Africa’s most populous nation, where many long for change.
The voting was carried out mostly peacefully, despite some ransacked polling stations and long delays. Voters stayed up late at night in many locations to observe the count and “protect” the ballots.
Nearly 90 million were eligible to vote on Saturday for a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, with many Nigerians hoping a new leader will do a better job tackling insecurity, economic malaise and growing poverty.
— dpa/AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
