By Ruzeki, Shadow News, Nairobi
Very long queues have been witnessed at polling stations across Nigeria as millions participate in the most competitive presidential poll since the end of a military rule.
Highlights
● Election officials and voting material arrived late at some polling stations.
● Voting machines also malfunctioned at some polling stations, with voters told to return later.
● Parliamentary elections are also taking place in today's poll.
● Excited crowds looked on as the their preferred candidates voted.
● There are a total of 18 presidential candidates in today's poll.
● The parliamentary election was postponed in the south-eastern Enugu East constituency, after the killing of a senatorial candidate on Wednesday by suspected gunmen from the separatist group.
● Today's election has seen a huge interest from first-time voters and young people.
● The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised a free and fair elections.
● The INEC will conduct national elections using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), a facial and fingerprints technology for the first time. The system will improve transparency by making it harder for politicians to rig the process.
● Final results are expected to be announced within 48hours after voting ends. The BVAS allows for the uploading of vote results directly to the INEC website from the polling stations.
● A candidate needs to have the most votes and 25% of ballots cast in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states to be declared the winner. If no candidate achieves this, there will be a run-off within 21 days between the first two candidates.
Since 1999, Nigeria which is the most populous country in Africa has been dominated by two parties; the ruling APC (All Progressives Congress) and the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party).
But in this election, there is a very strong challenge from a third-party candidate - the Labour Party's Peter Obi, who is backed by many young people.
President Muhammadu Buhari is retiring after two four-year terms. His APC party is represented by the former governor of Lagos Hon. Bola Tinubu, while the former Vice-President Hon. Atiku Abubakar is the flag bearer for the main opposition PDP.
We shall bring you a FULL COVERAGE of the election night once the results start streaming live on the INEC official website.
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