Nigeria on Sunday awaited results from its presidential election, as civil society groups warned that disorganisation and violence may have undermined the polls.
Nigeria on Sunday awaited results from its presidential election, as civil society groups warned that disorganisation and violence may have undermined the polls.
Results from 120,000 polling stations in 36 states where voting was held Saturday were expected to trickle in to the capital Abuja after being collated at the state and local levels.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the INEC election commission, will officially declare the outcome in the coming days. But both sides claimed victory.
Buhari’s aide Bashir Ahmad described the results as «so overwhelming».
«PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) has been voted by majority and #BuhariIsWinning!» he tweeted.
His main opponent’s media team said INEC should «immediately announce results as delivered from the polling units and declare the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the winner».
— ‘Serious deterioration’ —
Whoever becomes the next leader of Africa’s most-populous country and leading oil producer faces a daunting to-do list, from tackling widespread insecurity and endemic corruption to boosting an economy recovering from months of recession.
INEC said it was «generally satisfied» with the vote, even though polling stretched into Saturday evening in areas where voter card machines failed and materials were late arriving.
Local media said some polls were still open on Sunday.
A coalition of more than 70 civil society groups monitoring the vote reported 16 deaths from election-linked violence in eight states. Others gave higher tolls.
Police officers stand guard outside an election collection centre in Port Harcourt after Nigeria’s presidental election
Yasuyoshi CHIBA, AFP
Nigeria’s last election in 2015 was widely seen as the freest and fairest since the country returned to democracy in 1999 after decades of military rule.
