Nigeria's two main political parties have condemned a last-minute decision by the country's electoral authority to delay presidential and national assembly elections by one week.
Polls were due to open at 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Saturday, February 16. The vote will now take place on Saturday, February 23, authorities said, citing logistical issues.
Other WRAL Top Stories
"Following a careful review of the implementation of the logistics and operational plan, and the determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible," the chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said at a news conference early Saturday.
"This was a difficult decision for the commission to take, but necessary for the successful delivery of elections and the consolidation of our democracy," he said.
Elections for governorships, state House of Assembly and area councils are on hold until March 9, the INEC said.
The announcement was made only five hours before the polls were supposed to open. Many Nigerians had traveled long distances back to their home city or state in order to vote, only to find that the election was postponed.
The delay is likely to ratchet up tensions in what is a crucial vote in Africa's most populous nation.
Normal life in the massive country had been put on hold for the election, with borders closed and drivers urged not to take their cars on the roads Saturday.
Parties react
The main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) accused each other of using the delay to their advantage.
"We condemn the postponement of the elections, but urge our teeming supporters to be patient and determined," a statement released Saturday by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari's Presidential Campaign Council read.
It said Buhari had fully cooperated with the INEC and that the council hoped the commission would "remain neutral and impartial in this process" and not collude with the PDP.
The statement alleged that the PDP was "never ready for this election," and accused the party of using the postponement to "orchestrate more devious strategies to try and half President Buhari's momentum."
Opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the PDP said in a statement on Friday that Buhari's administration has had "more than enough time and money to prepare for these elections" and accused his opponent of delaying the vote in "hopes to disenfranchise the Nigerian electorate in order to ensure that turnout is low" on the new polling date.
Abubakar urged voters to come out in even greater numbers on February 23, adding that the APC were "desperate and will do anything in their power to avoid" being rejected by the Nigerian people.
"You can postpone an election, but you cannot postpone destiny," he said.
Both parties called for calm amid fears that voters' frustrations could boil over into increased tensions.
The INEC will likely face questions over the last-minute nature of its decision and the nature of the logistical difficulties involved. There have been reports of significant issues in getting voting materials to some key swing states.
Violence in build-up to elections
The lead-up to the elections has been marked by violence, prompting warnings from the British and US governments that they would deny visas to and likely prosecute anyone found inciting violence during the vote.
Two Nigerian electoral commission offices housing voting materials were burned down within the space of a week.
Buhari, 76, is running against 71 other presidential candidates but his main challenger is Abubakar, a business tycoon and former vice president.
The vote comes at a critical time for the country's economy, a lynchpin of the region. The recent oil price crash sent Nigeria's economy into turmoil when the price of a barrel plunged to $40 at its lowest from a high of $100, leaving the country's major revenue source depleted.
An estimated 87 million Nigerians now live in extreme poverty, the highest number in any country in the world, according to The Brookings Institution.