People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria, February 25, 2023.People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria, February 25, 2023.
Reporters at one location in central Lagos, another in the city of Awka, in southeastern Anambra State, and one in the northeastern city of Maiduguri saw voting begin, though at other Lagos locations there were delays. More than 93 million people are registered to vote for the next president and members of the National Assembly. Some 176 600 polling stations were scheduled to be open between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm .
The run-up to the vote was marred by violence, a pattern seen in previous Nigerian elections, with the killing of a senatorial candidate in the volatile southeast region on Wednesday the latest in a series of serious incidents. The main contenders in the race to succeed Buhari are former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, 61, of the smaller Labour Party.
Nigeria has a long history of electoral fraud and violence, though its polls have been getting gradually cleaner in recent cycles.