Nigeria delays presidential election one week

ABUJA, Nigeria—Nigeria’s electoral commission announced early on Saturday morning it had delayed the presidential election for a week, just hours before polls were scheduled to open. The Independent National Electoral Commission said the vote will now take place on Feb. 23 to allow it to address “identified challenges.”

On Friday, the resident electoral commissioner in central Niger state said the state had not received 85 percent of the materials it needed to conduct the vote. Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of southwest Ekiti state, reported a similar lack of materials there and in at least two other states. Nigeria similarly delayed presidential elections in 2011 and 2015 over logistical and security issues.

The presidential race is a tight one between incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Close to 84 million people had registered to vote. Schools and businesses across the country had already shut down and several Nigerians traveled to their home states to cast their votes. The Situation Room, a civic monitoring group, said the commission’s move casts doubt on its competency and has “created needless tension and confusion in the country.”