Nigeria on edge over vote drama

Nigeria was counting ballots yesterday, a day after a tight presidential election that has energized Africa's most populous nation.

The vote was mostly peaceful despite some violence, delays and technical glitches.

The slow uploading of results online was starting to stir up fears of electoral malpractice in a country with a history of vote rigging.

Nearly 90 million voters were eligible to vote on Saturday for a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after two terms marked by worsening security and growing poverty.

The election pits former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress against an old rival, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 76, of the Peoples Democratic Party.

But for the first time since the end of military rule in 1999, a third-party candidate, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, has challenged the APC and PDP dominance with a campaign message of change.