Nigeria: ECOWAS observer mission notes polling irregularities

As Nigerians anxiously await the outcome of the tightly contested presidential elections, the head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission says the voting process was marred by irregularities.

"The late start of voting beyond the 8:30 a.m. opening time due to the late arrival of polling officials, voting materials, and in some cases, the delivery of wrong materials at polling stations across the country,” said the head of the mission, Ernest Bai Koroma, were some of the issues noted by observers in the field.

As a result, people continued casting ballots on Sunday even though the general election, which included choosing a new national legislature, should have ended on Saturday.

The former president of Sierra Leone added, however, that major political parties did have representatives at most polling stations.

"The All People's Congress, the All Progressive Party, the APC, the People’s Democratic Party, the Labour Party, and the New Nigeria People's Party were present in most of the polling stations as a visible absence of most of the other party agents in the rest of these stations,” he said.

Concerns have been raised by some of the presidential candidates, through their supporters and parties, about irregularities during the vote.

But while noting issues reported by observers in the field, Koroma urged candidates to respect the outcome of the polls.

It could days before Nigeria’s election commission declares a winner.