The three front-runners in Nigeria’s hotly contested presidential election each claimed to be heading for victory on Monday as preliminary results trickled in two days after Africa's most populous nation went to the polls.
Only four of Nigeria's 36 states had officially announced results by midday, with three of those going to Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party. The fourth was won by Atiku Abubakar, of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Also in the mix is the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, who enjoys widespread support among the youth. A winner is not expected to be announced until at least Tuesday. It took four days for officials to declare a winner in the 2019 election.
A run-off election will be held if no candidate secures at least a quarter of the votes from two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital city, in addition to receiving the highest number of votes.
On Monday, the African Union observer mission said voting had been delayed in more than 80 per cent of polling units, mainly because of logistical challenges caused by Nigeria’s currency swap programme.
The redesign of the Nigerian bank note, the naira, caused cash shortages nationwide and voters and poll workers had difficulties getting to polling stations on Saturday. Voters in some states had to wait until late in the evening to cast ballots, while in other states voting continued on Sunday.
Observers from the AU and the West African regional bloc known as Ecowas said the election was generally “encouraging” except for isolated cases of violence that disrupted voting in some states.
After Mr Tinubu's victory in Ekiti state, the incumbent party said it was on course to stay in power.
“If the information we are beginning to receive from various parts of the country is anything to go by, one has every reason to be optimistic that our candidate will win”, Abdullahi Adamu, the APC chairman, told the state-run News Agency of Nigeria.
The PDP claimed victory for Mr Abubakar, saying people had turned out “en masse to give their votes” to the party.
“From preliminary results, it is clear that Atiku Abubakar’s message of hope, unity, security and rebuilding of our nation has been positively received by Nigerians”, the PDP said in a statement.
The Labour Party also claimed that its candidate was winning, though Mr Obi did not win any of the states declared.
“We are far ahead and we are already leading and we are winning in 24 states”, said Yunusa Tanko, spokesman for the Labour Party.
Mr Obi is a surprise contender in what is usually a two-horse race, with his popularity surging in polls ahead of the vote. The party accused election officials of not being present in their strongholds and said some of their supporters were denied the chance to vote.
As the full results have yet to be announced, analysts caution that early unsubstantiated claims of victory will only deepen public mistrust of the electoral process and undermine the legitimacy of the polls.
“The claims by the three parties aim to motivate their voters who are urged to protect ballot boxes from rigging. But the unsubstantiated claims of victory increase the risk of protests, both peaceful and violent by disappointed voters,” said Mucahid Durmaz, senior analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence company.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
POWERWASH%20SIMULATOR
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FuturLab%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESquare%20Enix%20Collective%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%2C%3Cstrong%3E%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The five pillars of Islam
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
