Violence, delays mark Nigeria’s presidential vote
Gunfire and explosions opened Nigeria’s delayed election on Saturday as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term in Africa’s most populous nation. The vote, widely seen as too close to call, also was marred by hours-long delays at polling stations across the vast West African country.
Police said they triggered the blasts in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, shortly before polls opened in a show of force to deter the terrorists that plague the northeast. But security sources said a rocket hit a displaced persons’ camp, while a blast at an army garrison killed one solider and injured four others, AP reported.
Gunfire also was heard in Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s restive south, where the military presence was heavier than in past elections.
Buhari brushed aside reporters’ questions about whether he would accept a loss to top challenger Atiku Abubakar , a billionaire former vice president. The president, first in line to vote in his northern hometown of Daura, jokingly checked the name on his wife’s ballot.
A smiling Abubakar, after voting in his hometown of Yola in the northeast, told reporters that “I look forward to a successful transition.” He previously pledged to accept the results, provided they are credible.
Buhari called the voting process smooth, but a coalition of civic groups said multiple polling units had not opened more than four hours after the official start.
Local broadcaster Channels TV showed a crowd still waiting after noon for the start of voting in the north-central state of Nasarawa. Abubakar’s party called such delays “deliberate,” claiming overwhelming support there.
Many Nigerians said the election will be decided by economic issues after a rough term for Buhari during which the country suffered a rare, months-long recession and unemployment grew significantly to 23 percent.