Nigeria election: First results expected

Nigeria's election body says it expects to announce the first results of Saturday's keenly contested presidential poll on Tuesday.

Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan is facing a strong challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.

The UN has praised the poll despite technical hitches, protests and violence linked to Boko Haram.

Voting spilled into a second day in some parts of Nigeria after problems with new electronic card readers.

President Jonathan was among those whose registration to vote was delayed by the technology, which was introduced to prevent fraud

His Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had opposed the card readers, called it a "huge national embarrassment".

Election commission chief Attahiru Jega said only a fraction of the 150,000 card readers being used nationwide had failed.

The presidential and parliamentary elections had been delayed by six weeks because of the insurgency by Boko Haram militants.

 

bbc