Nigeria votes in tight presidential election despite violent interference
ABUJA, Nigeria – Boko Haram fighters attacked poll stations in northeast Nigeria and a governor demanded elections be canceled in an oil-rich southern state Sunday as the count started for a presidential election too close to call.
Two electoral workers were killed Saturday in Boko Haram’s campaign to disrupt the elections, chairman Attahiru Jega of the Independent National Electoral Commission told reporters.
Voting continued in certain areas on Sunday after technical glitches with new biometric card readers prevented some people from casting ballots on Saturday.
The high-stakes contest to govern Africa’s richest and most populous nation has come down to a critically close contest between President Goodluck Jonathan, a 57-year-old Christian from the south, and former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, 72, from the predominantly Muslim north.
Suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked polling stations and destroyed election material in two northeastern towns Sunday, then advanced on the city of Bauchi, according to fleeing residents.
Soldiers engaged them in heavy gunfire, and a jet fighter patrolled skies above the city, they said.
Police spokesman Haruna Muhammad said security forces had halted the convoy of 10 vehicles holding “unidentified gunmen” at Dindima village, 6 miles from Bauchi.
But gunshots erupted in Bauchi before nightfall Sunday, and authorities declared a curfew.
Muhammad said the gunmen attacked polling stations in the towns of Kirfi and Alkaleri earlier in the day.
Boko Haram extremists killed at least 41 people, including a legislator, and scared hundreds of people from polling stations in three states in the northeast on Saturday.
Voters also are electing 360 legislators to the House of Assembly, where the opposition currently has a slight edge over Jonathan’s party. Voting for 13 constituencies was postponed until April because of shortages of ballot papers, electoral officials said.
Nigeria’s political landscape was transformed two years ago when the main opposition parties formed a coalition and for the first time united behind one candidate, Buhari. Dozens of legislators defected from Jonathan’s party, including Rivers State Gov. Rotimi Amaechi.
Since then, Rivers has become a hotbed of political thuggery.
On Sunday, thousands took the streets of the state capital of Port Harcourt to protest alleged killings of opposition campaign workers and voting irregularities. Police in riot gear and armored cars moved in but the demonstration ended peacefully.
Police reported the electoral commission’s office in Port Harcourt was bombed Sunday, and that three people, including a soldier, were shot dead Saturday. But the opposition coalition said scores of its members have been killed and blames “ethnic militias” working for Jonathan’s party.
It also alleged that about 100 opposition members were detained by police on Saturday. Police did not immediately respond to those charges.
“We are concerned about what seems to be happening in Rivers State (where) there are many alleged cases of malpractices,” electoral chairman Jega told a news conference.