Some Nigerians are still voting in a national election after technological issues halted polling on Saturday. During the exceptionally close battle between three frontrunners for Africa’s most populous nation’s presidency, vote counting was underway elsewhere. Over 90 million people were eligible to vote in Saturday’s election, which was mostly peaceful but delayed by unrest, delays, and technological issues. Many Nigerians believe a new leader can improve security, joblessness, and poverty after two terms under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Former Lagos governor and APC candidate Bola Tinubu, 70, faces former vice president and PDP contender Atiku Abubakar, 76, in his sixth presidential run. Nonetheless, Labor’s Peter Obi has challenged the APC and PDP supremacy for the first time since 1999. According to INEC, some Lagos polling booths were looted on Saturday, voter ID devices were stolen in other areas, and voting at 141 polling units in southern Bayelsa State was to take place on Sunday after the ballot was disrupted. news agency reported Sunday’s voting in Yenagoa, Nigeria’s oil-producing south. Before voting in Yenagoa, 60-year-old public worker Preye Iti stated, “The whole procedure is a total shambles.” Election officers and supplies arrived late, preventing certain areas from voting on Saturday. “I waited from 8:30am till 6:30pm yesterday. I’m back at 8:30am.” On Sunday, Yenagoa and areas of northern Borno state, where polling equipment failed the day before, were anticipated to proceed.
Triple-race
The electoral commission announced late Saturday that polling will proceed in numerous Yenagoa wards where election workers and equipment failed to arrive. Official countrywide results were anticipated late Sunday. Five days should reveal the election results. According to reporter Haru Mutasa in Enugu, the economy is a major concern. She stated Nigeria is quiet. The high expense of living makes life difficult. Many markets are open, and people are struggling to make ends meet, hoping that whoever wins this election would turn the economy around.”
23-year-old university student Francis Ofungwa considers the economy “of critical significance”. “We are hoping that after the election results [are published], the candidates will work on the economy to expand and attract foreign investment so that the youth will have jobs,” he told Reporters. If no candidate wins the three-way race, observers predict an unprecedented second-round run-off between the two frontrunners. A contender must win 25% in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the most votes to win. If no candidate wins, two frontrunners will run-off within 21 days. Nigerians voted for the National Assembly and Senate.
