By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Nigeria's independent electoral body asserted on Sunday that the results of the country's highly-contested presidential elections would be announced on Monday.
"The commission warns strongly against premature publication or announcement of results by unauthorized persons or media channels particularly online sites," Attahiru Jega, the chairman of the
Independent National Election Commission (INEC), told a press briefing in capital Abuja.
"You start counting 48 hours when substantial amount of polling units have concluded elections," he said.
Millions of Nigerians went to the polls Saturday to elect a new president, 360 House of Representatives members and 109 senators.
The presidential race is largely between Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has ruled the country since 1999, and Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who is running on the ticket of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), an amalgam of political interests.
The winner of the presidential race must clinch more than 50 percent of all valid votes plus a mandatory 25 percent in two-thirds of the country's 36 states.
If no candidate is able to win outright, the two frontrunners will compete for a simple majority in a runoff vote.
The electoral commission is the only body recognized by Nigerian law to declare official results.
Aggrieved parties have 30 days from the election to legally challenge final poll results.
-Probes-
The commission chairman, meanwhile, said allegations of underage voting in the northeastern Taraba State are being investigated.
"We are investigating such claims because underage registration and voting are clearly unlawful and any of our officials found culpable would be punished," Jega said.
He added that claims of electoral manipulations in south south Rivers State "are being investigated and we will take actions after we have concluded our investigation."
Hundreds of opposition youths stormed the office of the electoral commission in Rivers State over allegations that the vote outcome was being rigged in favor of the ruling party.
"We are protesting because what happened yesterday cannot be said to be an election," Fyneface Abuah, one of the protesters, told The Anadolu Agency.
"Election did not take place and result is about to be released," he suggested.
Abuah claimed that in APC stronghold the result sheets were not supplied to polling units or fake sheets were supplied and later changed.
Another protester, Priscilla Boyloaf, said they would continue to protest until this election is canceled.
"You cannot write election results where no voting took place," Boyloaf told AA. "That is what happened in Opobo and other major strongholds of our party."
Dakuku Peterside, governorship candidate of the APC in the state, called for the sacking of the electoral commissioner in the state who they accused of colliding with the ruling party to manipulate the poll.
