Nigeria Votes in Tight Presidential Election
Local Editor
Nigerians headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president in the most closely fought election since independence, framed by Boko Haram violence, economic woes and endemic corruption in Africa's most populous nation.
From megacity Lagos and the oil hub of Port Harcourt in the south to Kano and Maiduguri in the restive north, polling stations opened at 0700 GMT, to begin accreditation for voting proper from 1230 GMT.
The late arrival of election officials and materials delayed the process at some polling stations, where thousands of people had begun queuing from the early hours and some slept overnight.
Handheld technology to read biometric voter identity cards is being used for the first time, which the country's electoral commission hopes will cut voter fraud.
But confusion arose immediately over the card readers as President Goodluck Jonathan was kept waiting for more than 15 minutes in his hometown because of an apparent malfunction.
His ruling People's Democratic Party [PDP] has voiced concerns at the technology, calling it untested, while the main opposition All Progressives Congress [APC] has backed its use.
Fourteen candidates in all are contesting the presidential poll, while 2,537 candidates from 28 parties are vying for 469 seats in the National Assembly at the same time.
Jonathan's PDP has been in power since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 but the result is far from clear this time, with the opposition in its strongest position ever.
The president's inability to tackle Boko Haram -- until recently -- has dominated his tenure and although Nigeria became Africa's largest economy on his watch, global oil shocks have hit the country hard.
"I cannot recall an election more important than this in the history of our nation," Jonathan said on Thursday.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said the stakes were high.
"The international community has high expectations that Nigeria will provide leadership in setting a high standard for this election," Ban said.
The UN team is one of several teams of international observers in Nigeria to ensure a transparent contest after previous polls were marred by widespread rigging and deadly violence.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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