Nigerians vote for new president in closely fought election
- Election takes place amid as country grapples with a security crisis, a sluggish economy and widening poverty
- Three political veterans battle for country’s top job, with voters to also cast their ballot for Nigeria’s two houses of parliament
Nigerians vote on Saturday for a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari in a tightly fought race dominated by three political veterans.
Nearly 90 million people are eligible to vote in the poll, which is unfolding as Africa’s most populous democracy grapples with a security crisis, a sluggish economy and widening poverty.
For the first time in Nigeria’s modern history, a third candidate has emerged to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
With Buhari stepping down after two terms in office, the APC’s Bola Tinubu, 70, a former Lagos governor and political kingmaker, says “It’s my turn” for the presidency.
He faces a familiar rival – PDP candidate and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, 76, who is on his sixth bid for the top job.
But the emergence of a surprise third candidate appealing to young voters, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, 61, has thrown the race open for the first time since the end of military rule in 1999.
Nearly 10 million new voters registered this year, most of them under 34, representing an important bloc if they come out to vote.