Voting continues in Nigerian election a day after polls were meant to close due to disruption

The Nigerian presidential and parliamentary election has faced widespread disruption, as people continue to vote a day after the polls were meant to close, ITV News' Baibre Holmes has the latest.

People in Nigeria are still casting ballots for the nation's presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday morning, even though voting were supposed to end Saturday.

Votes were being submitted in Benue, Adamawa and Bayelsa states, even polls had closed and counting of ballots had began in other places, election observers said.

Preliminary results were expected as early as Sunday evening. So far only one state has announced its results with the ruling All Progressives Congress party's candidate, Bola Tinubu, winning in southwest Nigeria's Ekiti.

There has been widespread delays due to logistical issues and disruption caused by 'thugs' across Nigeria, on Saturday.

This lead to frustration among people, some of whom waited overnight and still had not voted by the following morning.

“No sacrifice is too great to elect a credible leader of your choice,” Glory Edewor, who stood in line all night to vote in Delta state, said.

Election officials blamed the delays on 'logistical issues', though other observers pointed to the upheaval created by a redesigned currency, which has left many residents unable to obtain bank notes.

The cash shortage has meant voters, election workers and police officers providing security have struggled to get transport ahead of the vote.

The challenges also likely resulted in low voter turnout, said Yiaga Africa, the country’s largest election monitoring body.

While Saturday’s election was largely peaceful, observers said there were at least 135 critical incidents, including eight reports of ballot-snatching.

Head of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said: "It is unacceptable that Nigerians who have the constitutional rights to participate in an election go out to cast their vote and you have thugs who make it difficult for them.

“The nation needs to really rise and condemn these acts of voter suppression that we observed yesterday.”

Associated Press journalists saw armed men pull up to a voting station in a minibus Saturday, fire shots in the air and grab the presidential ballot box.

The shots sent voters screaming and scattering, and ballots strewn across the floor.

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In the capital, Abuja, some people said they were barred from voting at all.

“They employed various strategies to make sure that we do not continue to vote,” said Emmanuel Ogbu.

The 45-year-old trader waited with more than 100 people to vote Sunday but was told by election officials they didn’t have enough supplies, such as ink, and needed to wait for the supervisor who had yet to arrive.

The elections were being carefully monitored as Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy.

By 2050, the U.N. estimates Nigeria will tie with the United States as the third most populous nation in the world after India and China.

President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after two four-year terms.

His tenure was marred by concerns about his health and frequent trips abroad for medical treatment.

Out of the field of 18 presidential candidates, three front-runners emerged in recent weeks: the candidate from Buhari’s ruling party, the main opposition party candidate and a third-party challenger who drew strong support from younger voters.

"As voting continued, officials need to ensure there is adequate security at polling stations, monitor the process for vote-rigging and manipulation, and control misinformation," said Dr. Akinola Olojo, project manager for the Lake Chad Basin team at the Institute for Security Studies.

“(These) points of attention are critical for the successful conclusion of what can be regarded as the most tense election in Nigeria’s recent history.

"The last election cycle in 2019 witnessed slightly over 600 fatalities, and it is important that Nigeria avoids such a situation while ensuring that the voice of citizens through the current election is secured.”