what it’s good to know and what’s at stake By Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) -Voters in Africa’s greatest financial system and most populous nation head to the polls on Saturday to elect a brand new president and lawmakers, in what is about to be an in depth contest amid rising frustration over money and gas shortages, unprecedented insecurity and surging inflation.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who will full his constitutionally allowed two phrases in Could, is just not on the poll. Voters may even select new senators and members for the Home of Representatives. Governorship races observe on March 11.

Here’s what it’s good to know in regards to the election.

WHO IS RUNNING?

A complete of 18 candidates are vying for the presidency. However the primary contest is between Labour Occasion’s Peter Obi, who’s main in some polls after galvanising younger voters, and veteran candidates Bola Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the primary opposition Individuals’s Democratic Occasion (PDP).

A scarcity of dependable polling makes it tough to foretell the winner, however an in depth race is anticipated despite the fact that the ruling celebration has a significant benefit because it is ready to use the state equipment to mobilise help.

Tinubu and Atiku have vital powerbases throughout Nigeria, whereas Obi is banking on frustration over the financial system and insecurity to show voters towards the 2 main events.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES?

Africa’s high oil producer is a key Western ally within the battle towards Islamist insurgents in west Africa.

The highest concern for a lot of Nigerian voters is spreading insecurity, from kidnappings for ransom within the northwest to a 13-year Islamist insurgency within the northeast, separatist violence within the southeast and decades-old ethnic tensions principally between herders and farmers within the north central area.

Double-digit inflation is at its highest in practically 20 years, and a scarcity of money has angered Nigerians who say life is more durable than when Buhari took workplace in 2015.

The naira forex plunged to file lows as unprecedented oil theft knocked crude exports final yr, and endemic corruption stays a scourge.

Because the financial system suffers, a whole lot of Nigerians are leaving the nation in a punishing mind drain that’s stretching a weak healthcare system and disrupting companies from banking to tech.

WHAT DO THE PARTIES OFFER?

There aren’t any clear ideological variations between the 2 main events. Competitors for dwindling oil revenues, patronage and ethnic rivalries sometimes play an even bigger function in Nigeria’s elections than ideology.

Obi, who left the PDP final yr and was Atiku’s working mate in 2019, casts himself as a reformist prepared to overtake Nigeria’s political system. However on coverage, there may be little separating the primary candidates. Tinubu, Atiku and Obi have all made reviving the financial system and ending insecurity high priorities, promising higher pay for safety forces and extra army gear to defeat insurgents.

Their manifestos say they’d scrap a gas subsidy that value $10 billion final yr however differ on how rapidly they’d do it. Additionally they promise to reform the foreign exchange market and make investments extra in training.

HOW WILL THE ELECTION WORK?

Some 93.4 million folks have registered to vote, of whom three-quarters are between the ages of 18 and 49.

The problem for the events, nonetheless, will likely be getting out the vote. Many youthful Nigerians don’t relate to the 2 major-party candidates, who’re each septuagenarian political veterans. In 2019, voter turnout was 35%, electoral fee figures confirmed.

Nigeria has a protracted historical past of electoral fraud.

This yr, nonetheless, the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) is utilizing a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to establish voters via fingerprints and facial recognition, hoping it will curb rigging.

On voting day, outcomes will likely be pasted outdoors polling stations and despatched via BVAS to an INEC portal in Abuja. They are going to be displayed on the portal in actual time and the general public can view them.

Official outcomes are anticipated inside 5 days. The candidate with essentially the most votes will likely be declared the winner if they’ve a minimum of one-quarter of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital. In any other case there will likely be a run-off between the 2 high candidates inside 21 days.