- Nigeria holds presidential and parliamentary elections
- Race to succeed President Buhari seen as wide open
- Uncertainty, shortage of money potential disruptors
- Measures in place to mitigate the risk of fraud
- Some polling stations do not open on time
KANO, Nigeria, February 25 (Portal) – Nigerians began voting on Saturday to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, with many hoping the next leader will be Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy after years of mounting violence and will steer distress onto a new course .
Polling stations were due to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), although Portal reporters in several locations around the country saw some not ready. In northern Kano state, southern Bayelsa state and the federal capital Abuja, reporters saw lines of voters without election officials in sight.
Reporters at one location in central Lagos, another in the town of Awka in the southeastern state of Anambra and one in the northeastern city of Maiduguri watched voting begin, though there were delays elsewhere in Lagos.
Buhari, a retired army general, is resigning after serving the maximum eight years allowed by the constitution but failing to fulfill his promise to restore order and security in Nigeria, Africa’s main oil-producing nation.
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The main candidates in the broadest election campaign since the end of army rule in 1999 are two political veterans from the two major parties and a candidate from a smaller party who polls say has a chance thanks to the support of young voters.
More than 93 million people are registered to vote for the next president and members of the National Assembly. About 176,600 polling stations were expected to be open between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (07:30 GMT to 13:30 GMT).
The counting of votes begins as soon as the polling stations close and the results are posted outside the polling stations. The final balance of the 36 states and the federal capital Abuja is expected within five days after the vote.
“I hope whoever becomes president will ease the suffering of the masses. We are in (a) difficult period, transportation costs and food prices have tripled,” said Umar Abdullahi, a tea vendor awaiting election in Kano city.
The run-up to the vote was marred by violence, a pattern seen in previous Nigerian elections, with Wednesday’s killing of a senator candidate in the volatile southeast region the latest in a series of serious incidents.
The election comes as Nigerians grapple with a cash shortage caused by a botched plan to exchange old banknotes for new ones, which has devastated people’s daily lives and led to scenes of violence at banks and ATMs.
THREE MAIN RECRUITERS
The new president will also have to grapple with problems ranging from high inflation, deep poverty and energy shortages to an Islamist insurgency in the Northeast, industrial-scale oil theft in the South and rampant crime everywhere.
Land borders were closed for the elections, soldiers patrolled the streets in several states and movements were restricted to increase security.
The main contenders in the race to succeed Buhari are former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and former governor of Anambra, Peter Obi, 61, of the smaller Labor Party.
Tinubu and Atiku, as he is known in Nigeria, are both political heavyweights with decades of networking and bulging campaign coffers. Both Muslims, Tinubu is an ethnic Southwestern Yoruba and Atiku is a Fulani from the Northeast.
Obi, a Christian from the Igbo ethnic group, has less of a political machine behind him than a slick social media campaign that has generated great enthusiasm among young voters, some of whom even call themselves “Obidents”.
Nigeria has a long history of voter fraud and violence, although its polls have gradually become cleaner in recent cycles.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has introduced new technologies and procedures to ensure this election is free and fair, such as voting. B. a bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) that identifies voters using biometric data.
Cell phones are not allowed in voting booths, INEC says, because people have used them in the past to take photos of their ticked ballots to show to candidates who have offered to pay for their votes.
“The election will be free and fair. We didn’t have that before. They have computers, they have fingerprints, they have pictures. You can’t cheat now,” said Mohammed Aisha, a grocer waiting to vote in Lagos.
Despite these precautions, analysts have warned there are still risks from cash constraints, which could leave hard-pressed citizens vulnerable to candidate vote-buying, and a lack of fuel, which could make it difficult for INEC to deploy staff and equipment at all areas.
Additional reporting by Tife Owolabi in Bayelsa, Garba Muhammad in Kaduna, Temilade Adelaja and Seun Sanni in Anambra, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Tim Cocks, Vining Ogu and James Oatway in Lagos, Camillus Eboh and Edwin Waita in Abuja Writing by Estelle Shirbon Editing by Frances Kerry
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