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Nigeria Presidential elections: Vote counting underway – results expected later today
Counting is underway in Nigeria’s presidential election, with the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan facing a strong challenge from retired military general Muhammadu Buhari.
The country’s election commission (INEC) said it hoped to announce the winner on Monday. Regional observers and the UN have praised the poll despite technical hitches, and pockets violence in the north east linked to Boko Haram.
Voting spilled into a second day in some parts of Nigeria after problems with new electronic card readers. President Jonathan was among those unable to cast his vote using the technology, which was introduced to prevent fraud.
His Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had opposed the card readers, called it a “huge national embarrassment”. The INEC chair, Attahiru Jega, stressed that only a fraction of the 150,000 card readers being used nationwide had failed.
The vote had been delayed by 6 weeks because of the disturbances caused by al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram militants.
Nigeria at a glance:
Two main presidential candidates: Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC), Muslim northerner, ex-military ruler, fourth presidential bid, and Goodluck Jonathan, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Christian southerner, the incumbent. Years of military rule ended in 1999 and the PDP has been in power ever since.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and leading oil producer; with a population of more than 170 million, it is also Africa’s most populous nation.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the “determination and resilience” of Nigerian voters, despite the reports of attacks by Boko Haram and others.
He said in a statement voting had been “largely peaceful and orderly”.
His comments have been echoed by the regional bloc – Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which urged Nigerians to accept the result. Results of the voting are expected to pour in through Monday, however, so far there is no official indication of which party is in the lead.
The PDP has dominated Nigerian politics since 1999, but Buhari’s All Progressives Congress party is viewed as a serious challenger.
Voters are also electing members of the house of representatives and the senate.
Source: Associated Press