Saturday, October 28, 2023

Nigeria Vote Count Begins with Extended Polling

Date:

Nigerians are still voting in a few areas of the country where technical and other issues prevented voting from taking place as scheduled on Saturday. Counting of votes is already underway in other places as the nation’s citizens take part in a historically tight race between three frontrunners for the presidency of Africa’s most populous nation. Nearly 90 million eligible voters were registered to take part in the election, which has been largely peaceful, although isolated cases of violence, delays, and technical issues have caused many to wait until the evening or Sunday to cast their ballots.

After two terms under President Muhammadu Buhari, many Nigerians hope a new leader will be able to address the widespread insecurity, joblessness, and poverty that have been afflicting their nation. The election pits former Lagos governor and APC candidate Bola Tinubu, 70, against his old rival, former vice president and PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, 76, who is on his sixth attempt at the nation’s top job. For the first time since the end of military rule in 1999, a third-party candidate, Labour’s Peter Obi, has challenged the APC and PDP dominance with a campaign message of change.

Reuters reported that people were casting their votes at polling stations in Yenagoa city in Nigeria’s oil-producing south on Sunday. Preye Iti, a 60-year-old civil servant, expressed his frustration with the process before voting in Yenagoa, where voting could not take place in some parts on Saturday due to election officers and materials not arriving on time. He said he had waited from 8:30am to 6:30pm the day before and was back again at 8:30am on Sunday. Besides Yenagoa, voting was also expected to continue in some parts of northeastern Borno state on Sunday after voting machines failed to work the previous day.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said late on Saturday that election would continue in several wards in Yenagoa and where there were cases of election officers and materials failing to turn up on Saturday. It added that official nationwide results could be expected late on Sunday and the final election tally is expected within five days. Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reported from Enugu in the southeast that one of the main issues on people’s minds is the state of the economy. Francis Ofungwa, a 23-year-old university student, said that he was optimistic that whoever wins this election will turn around the economy so that there will be jobs for the youth.

The three-way race has some analysts forecasting an unprecedented second-round run-off between the two frontrunners if no candidate emerges as a clear winner. To win, a candidate must get the most votes but also win 25 percent in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states. If no candidate wins, a run-off will take place within 21 days between two frontrunners. Voters also cast their ballot for Nigeria’s two houses of parliament, the National Assembly and Senate.

Nigerians are still voting in a few areas of the country where technical and other issues prevented voting from taking place as scheduled on Saturday. Counting of votes is already underway in other places as citizens take part in a historically tight race between three frontrunners for the presidency of Africa’s most populous nation. Nearly 90 million eligible voters were registered to take part in the election, which has been largely peaceful despite isolated cases of violence, delays, and technical issues causing many to wait until the evening or Sunday to cast their ballots.

After two terms under President Muhammadu Buhari, many Nigerians hope a new leader can do a better job of tackling the widespread insecurity, joblessness, and poverty afflicting their nation. The election pits former Lagos governor and APC candidate Bola Tinubu, 70, against his old rival, former vice president and PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, 76, who is on his sixth bid for the nation’s top job. For the first time since the end of military rule in 1999, a third-party candidate, Labour’s Peter Obi, has challenged the APC and PDP dominance with a campaign message of change.

Reuters reported people casting their votes at polling stations in Yenagoa city in Nigeria’s oil-producing south on Sunday. Preye Iti, a 60-year-old civil servant, expressed his frustration with the process before voting in Yenagoa, where voting could not take place in some parts on Saturday due to election officers and materials not arriving on time. Besides Yenagoa, voting was also expected to continue in some parts of northeastern Borno state on Sunday after voting machines failed to work the previous day.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said late on Saturday that election would continue in several wards in Yenagoa and where there were cases of election officers and materials failing to turn up on Saturday. It added that official nationwide results could be expected late on Sunday and the final election tally is expected within five days. Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reported from Enugu in the southeast that one of the main issues on people’s minds is the state of the economy. Francis Ofungwa, a 23-year-old university student, said he was optimistic that whoever wins this election will turn around the economy so that there will be jobs for the youth.

The three-way race has some analysts forecasting an unprecedented second-round run-off between the two frontrunners if no candidate emerges as a clear winner. To win, a candidate must get the most votes but also win 25 percent in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states. If no candidate wins, a run-off will take place within 21 days between two frontrunners. Voters also cast their ballot for Nigeria’s two houses of parliament – National Assembly and Senate – as they hope for a better future for their nation.

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