Nigeria Elections 2019: Atiku Abubakar defies Muhammadu Buhari

Nigerians finally go to the polls after a last-minute postponement a week ago.

In the most populous country in Africa, the main opponent of 76-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari is former 72-year-old Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Buhari said he had built a solid foundation for prosperity, but his rival said Nigeria was not working.

Anyone who wins will have to deal with electricity shortages, corruption, security threats and economic sluggishness.

Voting begins at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and polls close at 14:00 (13:00) but anyone still in the queue will be allowed to vote.

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We do not know when the results will be announced – it could be Sunday, but rather Monday or Tuesday, or even later.

Why was the election delayed?

The initial vote was postponed on the occasion of a spectacular press conference in the early hours of Saturday, February 16, just five hours before the opening of the polls.

The National Independent Electoral Commission (Inec) gave several reasons for this delay, including attempts at sabotage and logistical problems such as bad weather and problems with the delivery of ballot papers.

Inec said everything was in place for the vote to take place this time.

How does the election work?

The candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the winner in the first round, provided that this person obtains at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 states of Nigeria.

There are 73 candidates registered for the presidential election, but the campaign was dominated by the two political giants and party machines established behind them.

The President's All Progressive Congress (APC) promised to move the country to the "next level," claiming that Buhari had carried out during his first four-year term many "fundamental works" that might not be immediately obvious.

Abubakar and his popular democratic party pledged to "put Nigeria back to work," saying the president had squandered his time over the past four years.

Both men are from the Muslim-dominated north of the country. While they are 70, more than half of the 84 million registered voters in Nigeria are under 35 years old.

What are the main problems?

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, but corruption and the inability to invest the products of the industry have hindered the country's development.

He fell into a recession in 2016 and a slow recovery has resulted in an insufficient number of jobs created to cope with the large numbers of young people entering the job market. Currently, almost a quarter of the working-age population is unemployed.

Election in figures

• 84 million registered voters
• 51% of the electorate under 35 years
• 73 candidates for the presidential election
• 120,000 polling stations

Buhari: the president of the "new broom" seeks to clean everything

Abubakar: the operator who knows how to earn money

Nigeria in nine maps and charts

Full coverage: Nigeria's vote in 2019

Buhari has repressed a militant Islamist rebellion in the north-east of the country, but Boko Haram remains active. There has also been a resurgence of violence in the country's median belt, following clashes between traditional herders and herders.

Until 1999, Nigeria was ruled by either short-term civilian administrations or military leaders. But this year marks the 20th anniversary of the return of democracy.

Mr. Buhari was elected in 2015 – the first time that an opposition candidate had defeated an incumbent president to become president.