Abuja---Nigerian opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari on Monday made big gains in his northern stronghold against President Goodluck Jonathan in a knife-edge general election, with tensions and fears of violence running high as results came in.
The presidential vote pitting Jonathan against the former military ruler Buhari is the closest in Nigeria's history, and the first with a credible opposition challenge.
International 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.
Nigeria's Transition Monitoring Group, which had observers across the country, said: "These issues did not systematically disadvantage any candidate or party."
Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) had won 10 states compared to five and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja for Jonathan and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The 72-year-old defeated Jonathan, 57, by nearly 1.7 million votes in the key northern state of Kano, which has been among the hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The margin of victory -- with similar gains in his home state of Katsina and Kaduna -- put him nearly 3.5 million votes ahead of Jonathan but the president may claw back ground in the south.
- US, UK warning -
The PDP and the APC on Sunday traded allegations of vote rigging and other irregularities, raising the possibility of a legal challenge to the results.
Violence has often flared in previous Nigerian votes after the winner is announced and the United States and Britain warned against any "interference" with the count.
"So far, we have seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process," US Secretary of State John Kerry and British foreign minister Philip Hammond said in a joint statement.
"But there are disturbing indications that the collation process -- where the votes are finally counted -- may be subject to deliberate political interference."
Kayode Idowu, spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told AFP that there was "no evidence of political interference".
Jonathan's campaign spokesman Femi Fani-Kayode told reporters in Abuja that the claims were "absolutely balderdash" and challenged Kerry and any other foreign powers to provide evidence.
- Fears, curfew -
Nigeria's central Kaduna state, one of the areas worst-affected by violence four years ago when some 1,000 people were killed in post-election clashes, was said to be calm.
Awwal Abdullahi Aliyu, president of the Northern People Unity and Reconciliation Union, welcomed positive statements from foreign observers about the conduct of the election.
But he warned that places such as Kaduna remained a powderkeg and could "catch fire", particularly if electoral fraud is suspected in any ruling party victory.
AFP
