ABUJA, Mar 30 : Nigerians on Monday awaited the first results of a closely fought general election, with protests over the conduct of the vote and a warning of manipulation of the count heightening fears of poll-related violence.
The presidential election pitting President Goodluck Jonathan against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari is the closest in Nigeria's history, and first with a credible opposition challenge.
International election observers gave broadly positive reactions to the conduct of the vote, despite late delivery of election materials and technical glitches with new voter authentication devices.
But Nigeria's Transition Monitoring Group, which had observers across the country, said: "These issues did not systematically disadvantage any candidate or party."
All eyes now are on the results, collation of which began at about 1300 GMT. Violence has often flared in previous Nigerian votes after the winner is announced.    ?AFP