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| Nigeria tensely awaits first results in closely fought election | Nigeria tensely awaits first results in closely fought election |
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| Counting is under way in Nigeria’s fiercely contested general election, with the first results expected on Monday. | Counting is under way in Nigeria’s fiercely contested general election, with the first results expected on Monday. |
| The battle between President Goodluck Jonathan and opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, is the most closely fought in the country’s history. Officials started the public collation of votes from midday and said the winner could be declared later on Monday or on Tuesday. | |
| Related: Nigerian laureate Wole Soyinka laments ‘vicious, unprincipled’ election | Related: Nigerian laureate Wole Soyinka laments ‘vicious, unprincipled’ election |
| Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, congratulated the west African nation for holding a “largely peaceful and orderly” ballot but called on citizens to “maintain a peaceful atmosphere and to exercise patience”. He condemned attacks carried out by Islamist group Boko Haram and other militants attempting to disrupt the polls. | Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, congratulated the west African nation for holding a “largely peaceful and orderly” ballot but called on citizens to “maintain a peaceful atmosphere and to exercise patience”. He condemned attacks carried out by Islamist group Boko Haram and other militants attempting to disrupt the polls. |
| John Kerry, the US secretary of state, and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, said they had seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process but warned in a joint statement that “there are disturbing indications that the collation process – where the votes are finally counted – may be subject to deliberate political interference”. | |
| Electoral observers and local civil society groups praised the voting so far – including the high youth and female turnout – but warned the process could still be derailed. | Electoral observers and local civil society groups praised the voting so far – including the high youth and female turnout – but warned the process could still be derailed. |
| “In the past, serious irregularities have happened after the elections, delegitimising the process. Mindful of that, we hope that after the votes have been announced by the election commission that the candidates will comport themselves as peacefully, as orderly and appropriately as the people of Nigeria did on election day,” the US ambassador, Johnnie Carson, said from the capital Abuja. | |
| Christopher Fomunyoh of the US-based National Democratic Institute said the current system of passing ballot boxes through several local levels before finally rubber-stamping them at the electoral headquarters heightened risks of fraud. | Christopher Fomunyoh of the US-based National Democratic Institute said the current system of passing ballot boxes through several local levels before finally rubber-stamping them at the electoral headquarters heightened risks of fraud. |
| “Our belief is that with the new technology that [electoral commission] INEC is now introducing,the system … should be revisited. [It would be] more of a confidence-building measure to have the polling sites transmit their results once announced, directly into the database of INEC in Abuja.” | |
| Glitches with handheld card and fingerprint readers, which are being used for the first time, led to voting being extended for a second day. But observers also praised the move to an electronic voting system. | Glitches with handheld card and fingerprint readers, which are being used for the first time, led to voting being extended for a second day. But observers also praised the move to an electronic voting system. |
| “We know there were issues with card readers but where it worked, it enhanced the conduct of the election. Irregularities were more or less isolated cases,” said Ibrahim Zikirullahi of the Transition Monitoring Group, who said the organisation had its own estimates of the results. | “We know there were issues with card readers but where it worked, it enhanced the conduct of the election. Irregularities were more or less isolated cases,” said Ibrahim Zikirullahi of the Transition Monitoring Group, who said the organisation had its own estimates of the results. |
| He said the number of eyes turned towards Africa’s largest democracy meant it would be harder to rig elections, accusations that have plagued previous polls. “If the official results don’t reflect the ballots cast, [we] will expose it,” he added. | |
| Electoral chief Attahiru Jega is expected to announce results on Monday evening. | Electoral chief Attahiru Jega is expected to announce results on Monday evening. |
| Fears over a violent backlash after the results are announced have persisted. On Monday morning, police fired teargas in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s oil capital, as thousands of female supporters of the opposition demanded the cancellation of the election in Rivers state, the Associated Press reported. | Fears over a violent backlash after the results are announced have persisted. On Monday morning, police fired teargas in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s oil capital, as thousands of female supporters of the opposition demanded the cancellation of the election in Rivers state, the Associated Press reported. |
| Rivers has become a key battleground for the two main parties. Attacks on the oil industry pushed global crude prices to record highs in 2004 and former rebels threatened to take up arms again if Jonathan – who brokered a lucrative peace deal in 2009 – is not re-elected. | Rivers has become a key battleground for the two main parties. Attacks on the oil industry pushed global crude prices to record highs in 2004 and former rebels threatened to take up arms again if Jonathan – who brokered a lucrative peace deal in 2009 – is not re-elected. |
| Police confirmed two people were killed during voting on Saturday, while the opposition put the figure at “scores” and alleged the vote there had been rigged. By Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of the state capital, Port Harcourt, calling for the vote to be rescheduled. The electoral headquarters in Rivers were burned down. | Police confirmed two people were killed during voting on Saturday, while the opposition put the figure at “scores” and alleged the vote there had been rigged. By Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of the state capital, Port Harcourt, calling for the vote to be rescheduled. The electoral headquarters in Rivers were burned down. |
| Attahiru Jega, Nigeria’s election chief, said: “It is true our INEC office in Rivers state was torched. We have informed police authorities. We have asked for additional security so this does not occur again.” | Attahiru Jega, Nigeria’s election chief, said: “It is true our INEC office in Rivers state was torched. We have informed police authorities. We have asked for additional security so this does not occur again.” |
| The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) said it would reject the outcome in Rivers and denounced the vote there as “a sham and a charade”. The APC reported violence in the state and blamed it on “armed militias” backed by the governing People’s Democratic party (PDP). “Whatever trash will [be] announced as the result of today’s election is not acceptable to us,” it said. | The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) said it would reject the outcome in Rivers and denounced the vote there as “a sham and a charade”. The APC reported violence in the state and blamed it on “armed militias” backed by the governing People’s Democratic party (PDP). “Whatever trash will [be] announced as the result of today’s election is not acceptable to us,” it said. |
| The Situation Room, a civil society group monitoring the election, said it was deeply concerned about reports of interference in Rivers and neighbouring Imo state. | The Situation Room, a civil society group monitoring the election, said it was deeply concerned about reports of interference in Rivers and neighbouring Imo state. |
| Rotimi Amaechi, the powerful governor of Rivers state, defected to the opposition after a series of internal squabbles with the ruling party spilled over into the public limelight. | Rotimi Amaechi, the powerful governor of Rivers state, defected to the opposition after a series of internal squabbles with the ruling party spilled over into the public limelight. |
| Meanwhile, Rochas Okorocha, the APC governor of Imo state, denounced on television the conduct of the election in his region and accused the military of meddling in the result. | Meanwhile, Rochas Okorocha, the APC governor of Imo state, denounced on television the conduct of the election in his region and accused the military of meddling in the result. |
| Related: 'The super-rich don't vote in Nigeria': election in the land of rising inequality | |
| The tension in Rivers raised fears of a disputed national outcome and a repeat of the violence that erupted after the last election in 2011, when 800 people were killed and 65,000 people were displaced in the mainly Muslim north. | The tension in Rivers raised fears of a disputed national outcome and a repeat of the violence that erupted after the last election in 2011, when 800 people were killed and 65,000 people were displaced in the mainly Muslim north. |
| Speaking in the capital, Abuja, Jega also addressed the failure of some card readers, which the electoral body said meant voting spilled over to Sunday in 300 polling stations. About 400 card readers out of more than 150,000 used had not worked, he said, but insisted this would have no impact on the final result. | Speaking in the capital, Abuja, Jega also addressed the failure of some card readers, which the electoral body said meant voting spilled over to Sunday in 300 polling stations. About 400 card readers out of more than 150,000 used had not worked, he said, but insisted this would have no impact on the final result. |
| “The number of failures of card readers to operate surprised us. One possible explanation is that the people operating them had not been trained.” | “The number of failures of card readers to operate surprised us. One possible explanation is that the people operating them had not been trained.” |
| To avoid a runoff, presidential candidates need to win the most votes and at least 25% support in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the federal capital territory of Abuja. | To avoid a runoff, presidential candidates need to win the most votes and at least 25% support in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the federal capital territory of Abuja. |
| Military fighter jets and ground troops launched an offensive against Boko Haram fighters in the north-eastern state of Bauchi on Sunday after a series of deadly attacks on polling stations at the weekend. | Military fighter jets and ground troops launched an offensive against Boko Haram fighters in the north-eastern state of Bauchi on Sunday after a series of deadly attacks on polling stations at the weekend. |