NIGERIA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Voting Partially Extended to Sunday
Category: Nigerian National News
Elections in some parts of the country have been extended until Sunday after delays in commencing voting and a number of attacks in some parts of the country.
The delays were "not widespread" but were still "a matter of concern", an election official told the BBC.
Technical problems with new biometric cards slowed down voter registration, even affecting President Goodluck Jonathan.
More than 20 people have reportedly been killed in various attacks by unknown gunmen.
The two main candidates had pledged to prevent violence during and in the aftermath of the elections.
But several hours after voting started, reports came in of violent incidents at polling stations in which at least 24 were reported to have been killed.
Mr Jonathan is facing a strong challenge from Muhammadu Buhari. The election is said to be the most closely fought since independence.
Election was earlier postponed from mid-February to allow the army time to recapture territory from the Islamist militants of Boko Haram.
Other booths experienced technical glitches, leading to voting being extended to Sunday at "about 300 polling units out of about 150,000", a spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) said.
At polling stations where voting was closed, officials began counting votes - with blackouts forcing some to use torches or car lights.
According to BBC report, some militants attacked polling units, some election officials were abducted, there were reported cases of stolen ballot boxes, a suspicious number of delays at some polling stations, and - although this may be more chaos than conspiracy - serious doubts are raised about the efficacy of new voter registration machines.
Millions of Nigerians turned out to vote, despite threats from Boko Haram to disrupt the poll.
"We have suffered enough, fled our homes after many attacks," said Roda Umar, a housewife from the former militant headquarters of Gwoza. "I'm ready to endure the pain to vote."
The Inec said the accreditation process had "gone on well in several places", but was "slow" or had "not commenced at all" in others. Many stations experienced problems with card readers.
President Jonathan tried for some 50 minutes to register in his home village of Otuoke, before coming back a second time. When the electronic registration failed again, he had to be accredited manually before casting his ballot paper.
Gen Buhari did not have any problems registering in his hometown, Daura.
After voting, he told the BBC the process was "in order but I have been watching activities in other states, which is disappointing, but overall it's on course".
Attacks were reported in north-eastern Gombe state, including incidents where gunmen opened fire on voters at polling stations.
It is unclear whether the attacks were the work of Boko Haram militants or political thugs.
However, Mr Jonathan told the BBC's Peter Okwoche that most of the violence in Gombe was not directly related to the elections.
"The war against terrorists is going on, voting or no voting," he said. "There was a conflict, kind of a crossfire, between soldiers and terrorists that had nothing to do with the elections."
Source: BBC
Related Posts via Categories:
WhatsApp: +2348034463786
Need a good platform to Advertise your products & services;
Call: +2348088538618, E-mail: admin@ackcity.net
What's your view? Leave comment(s)
Elections in some parts of the country have been extended until Sunday after delays in commencing voting and a number of attacks in some parts of the country.
The delays were "not widespread" but were still "a matter of concern", an election official told the BBC.
Technical problems with new biometric cards slowed down voter registration, even affecting President Goodluck Jonathan.
More than 20 people have reportedly been killed in various attacks by unknown gunmen.
The two main candidates had pledged to prevent violence during and in the aftermath of the elections.
But several hours after voting started, reports came in of violent incidents at polling stations in which at least 24 were reported to have been killed.
Mr Jonathan is facing a strong challenge from Muhammadu Buhari. The election is said to be the most closely fought since independence.
Election was earlier postponed from mid-February to allow the army time to recapture territory from the Islamist militants of Boko Haram.
Other booths experienced technical glitches, leading to voting being extended to Sunday at "about 300 polling units out of about 150,000", a spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) said.
At polling stations where voting was closed, officials began counting votes - with blackouts forcing some to use torches or car lights.
According to BBC report, some militants attacked polling units, some election officials were abducted, there were reported cases of stolen ballot boxes, a suspicious number of delays at some polling stations, and - although this may be more chaos than conspiracy - serious doubts are raised about the efficacy of new voter registration machines.
Millions of Nigerians turned out to vote, despite threats from Boko Haram to disrupt the poll.
"We have suffered enough, fled our homes after many attacks," said Roda Umar, a housewife from the former militant headquarters of Gwoza. "I'm ready to endure the pain to vote."
The Inec said the accreditation process had "gone on well in several places", but was "slow" or had "not commenced at all" in others. Many stations experienced problems with card readers.
President Jonathan tried for some 50 minutes to register in his home village of Otuoke, before coming back a second time. When the electronic registration failed again, he had to be accredited manually before casting his ballot paper.
Gen Buhari did not have any problems registering in his hometown, Daura.
After voting, he told the BBC the process was "in order but I have been watching activities in other states, which is disappointing, but overall it's on course".
Attacks were reported in north-eastern Gombe state, including incidents where gunmen opened fire on voters at polling stations.
It is unclear whether the attacks were the work of Boko Haram militants or political thugs.
However, Mr Jonathan told the BBC's Peter Okwoche that most of the violence in Gombe was not directly related to the elections.
"The war against terrorists is going on, voting or no voting," he said. "There was a conflict, kind of a crossfire, between soldiers and terrorists that had nothing to do with the elections."
Source: BBC
Related Posts via Categories:
- SATRUDAY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Please Support Me, GEJ Begs North-East
- President Jonathan's 2015 Election Broadcast
- Photos: INEC begins distribution of electoral materials for Elections
- Unbelievable! See inside an Arik flight Last night (photos)
- NIGERIA ELECTION: PHOTO: Airport Congested as Nigerians Migrates Days Before Election
- NIGERIA ELECTIONS: Al Jazeera Demands The Release Of Two Journalists Detained By The Nigerian Military
- ELECTION: I Might Not Be Perfect, But Buhari Is Definitely Not An Option - Pres. Jonathan
- ELECTION: Buhari’s Last Message To Nigerians Before Election Day (Full Text)
- ELECTION: President Jonathan Deploys Military Men To Election "Monitoring" Chores – See Names And Phone Numbers
WhatsApp: +2348034463786
Need a good platform to Advertise your products & services;
Call: +2348088538618, E-mail: admin@ackcity.net
What's your view? Leave comment(s)
No comments