Nigerian Opposition Seeks Halt to Vote Results.

Nigerian Opposition Seeks Halt to Vote Results.

The party of Nigeria’s top opposition candidate is calling on the electoral commission to immediately halt the compilation of presidential election results as President Muhammadu Buhari is poised to win a second term. The party of challenger Atiku Abubakar in a statement Tuesday night alleges that data from smart card readers used in Saturday’s election have been manipulated. Voters used the cards to help identify themselves at the polls. The statement says the party chairman has asked the electoral commission chairman to halt the results process. With more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states announced, Buhari leads by nearly 3.5 million votes. The opposition also is calling for fresh elections to be held in four states: Yobe, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Borno. A spokesman for the campaign of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claims they have unofficial numbers showing the leader has won Saturday’s election and his supporters are preparing to celebrate later Tuesday. Babatunde Fashola, Cabinet minister for power and works and campaign director for election monitoring, tells The Associated Press that they are “preparing for the president to give his acceptance speech.” Fashola says top opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar should accept his loss gracefully and concede. He says Abubakar also should provide evidence to back up claims that the ruling party manipulated election results.