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Tens of millions of Nigerians went to the polls on Saturday, a week after the postponement of last-minute elections, as Africa's most populous nation faced problems, including a failed economy and persistent insurgency. Boko Haram activists.
Just before the polls opened, one soldier was killed and 20 wounded when Boko Haram fighters attacked Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State and the largest city in the north-east.
The postponement of the elections had been announced just five hours before the opening of the polls, despite reports that election materials had not been distributed across the country.
The postponement was to lower the participation rate. Nigeria does not have a postal voting system and a large number of people who returned to their hometowns to vote on February 16 returned to their place of residence, unable to afford a working week.
The delay also raised many doubts about the integrity of the polls, with the ruling party and major opposition parties exchanging accusations of indirect influence over the commission.
Sporadic violence has been reported, but there does not appear to be any major disruption – although some polling stations have been open so late that voting in these areas could be extended until Sunday. Results are expected early next week.
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The ruling party is represented by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, a former 76-year-old army general, whose 2015 elections marked the first defeat of a candidate against a sitting president.
Atiku Abubakar, a 72-year-old politician and businessman, is Buhari's main opponent, although more than 60 other minor party candidates are also in the lineup.
One of the most urgent problems of the campaign is widespread violence in the country. According to the WILD Location and Events Project, more civilians were killed last year in Nigeria during targeted attacks in Nigeria compared to Yemen or Afghanistan.
Boko Haram and a dissident faction that has sworn allegiance to the Islamic State have terrorized northeastern Nigeria for a decade and tensions between farmers and ranchers have erupted in much of central and northwestern Nigeria. Nigeria.
A few days before the date of the initial vote, a large convoy carrying the governor of Borno was attacked by Boko Haram. Government officials claimed only three had been killed, but testimony cited by Reuters indicated that at least 100 people could have been killed and between 100 and 200 would have been taken captive. Boko Haram likened voting to apostasy by warning civilians to stay away from polling stations.
According to badysts, hundreds of people have been killed in dozens of election-related events since the end of last year.
"In the capital, Abuja, the opening of polling stations has been long and tedious, things are moving slowly," said John G. Tomaszewski, director for Africa at the International Republican Institute , an American organization monitoring elections. "But overall, people are very patient, which is nice to see."
Buhari implored voters not to stop his "bandwagon", which he says has grown in the face of insecurity and is about to revive a gloomy economy in which near the quarter are unemployed.
Nigeria receives significant support from international organizations, as well as from the United States and Great Britain, which dominated it until 1960. The US government granted Nigeria more than 450 millions of dollars in 2018, mainly for humanitarian aid in the fields of food and health. Buhari has traveled to Washington to meet with President Trump, and Nigeria is collaborating with the US military on regional security issues.
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"I'm going to congratulate myself. I will be the winner, "Buhari told reporters after voting this morning in his home town of Katsina State, the poorest country.
Voters in Buhari are particularly numerous in northern Nigeria, a predominantly Muslim and extremely poor region. He is perceived as relatively intact in a political arena known for his corruption.
"This election is about who can be the biggest processor," said Abubakar Garba Mshelia, who teaches political science in Yola, in the north-east of the country, and supports Buhari. "We need a credible person, with a plan. Buhari proved that he was without fear or favor. "
Opponents of Buhari say it lacks energy to cope with the growing crisis in Nigeria. Buhari spent nearly half of 2017 in a London hospital, treating an undeclared disease. He denied using a duplicate of the body.
Abubakar, commonly known as Atiku, has been greatly enriched by a petroleum and logistic company he founded in 1982. Since then, he has embarked on politics, sometimes on the side of Buhari. At one point he was vice-president.
He has four women and 28 children and his autobiography is titled "Making Money". His supporters hope he can attract foreign investment and spread the wealth of Nigeria. Despite Africa's largest economy, nearly 100 million Nigerians live on less than $ 2 a day.
Atiku has been the subject of widespread allegations of corruption. In 2005, as Vice President, he was involved in an FBI investigation into the representative William J. Jefferson (D-La.) For alleged corruption and collusion in order to help Jefferson win contracts Nigeria.
In 2010, a US Senate report accused Atiku and his fourth US wife, Jennifer Douglas, of having laundered more than $ 40 million in the United States between 2000 and 2008.
The Atiku campaign has repeatedly accused the Buhari party of rigging the election, although the evidence they provided has not been verified by observers independent.
Doubts about the fairness of the elections, however, intensified in January when Buhari dismissed Nigeria's Chief Justice, who was accused of failing to declare his badets before taking office. The Chief Justice would be the arbiter of any election-related litigation, and the timing of his dismissal was a source of concern.
Nigerian politics has been criticized as a closed club to allow elites to compete on extensive patronage systems and access the mbadive oil wealth of the country, mostly owned by the state.
In an editorial, Nigerian novelist and satirist Elnathan John wrote that neither Buhari nor Abubakar represented "a discernible political ideology".
"Almost all influential politicians supporting the opposition candidate were at one point ruling party members. A number of ministers and political figures publicly supporting President Buhari were until recently members of the opposition, "he wrote. "Changing political parties is not only simple but often requires no justification."
Nigeria is also close to last in terms of the number of women it elects. Experts predict that the number of women to win seats will probably fall below 5% in this election.
In Yola, many women lamented the lack of choice in this election, regardless of gender.
"We do not have leaders who support us," said Blessing Williams, 24, who works in a modest sewing workshop in Yola. "Ours have no humility even if they are only where they are because of us, the little people."
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