The Nigerian general elections have been hailed by international observers in spite of reports of violence and the technical hitches.
Voting in the elections was extended into a second day following delays in the verification of voters caused by problems with the card readers.
[contextly_sidebar id=”nVy2wS99rIaPIsZFFROMjkyplalnUjoX”]President Goodluck Jonathan had to wait for almost 5o minutes until his identity was verified.
Opposition supporters in River State have also protested what they call irregularities in the voting process and the Nigerian Electoral Commission office in the region was set ablaze.
There have also been reports of sporadic violence across the country, however, President Jonathan stated the violence was not related to the elections.
“The war against terrorists is going on, voting or no voting,” he said. “There was a conflict, kind of a crossfire, between soldiers and terrorists that had nothing to do with the elections.”
And the international observers, including the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), John Kufuor.
The UN Secretary general described the process as “largely peaceful and orderly” in a statement.
He acknowledged the “determination and resilience” of Nigerian voters to come out and take part in the process despite the threat posed by Militant Islamist group Boko Haram and urged voters to maintain a “peaceful atmosphere and to exercise patience.”
On his part, the former Ghanaian president John Kufuor described the process as”quite peaceful, orderly and credible”.
Analysts have said the election, being contested between Jonathan and General Mahamudu Buhari is the closest since Nigeria returned to democratic rule.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana