<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Bola Tinubu from Nigeria's ruling party has taken a strong lead as results are declared from Saturday's presidential election, amid opposition protests.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Mr Tinubu, 70, a wealthy businessman and former governor of Lagos state, has won 36% of the vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has 29%, while third-party candidate Peter Obi has 25%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The parties of both Mr Abubakar and Mr Obi have called for the election to be cancelled and rerun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They alleged that the inability of the electoral commission to upload results to its website showed that the results had been manipulated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many voters reported problems with uploading results through the new electronic voting system, which was intended to speed up the process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were also widespread delays, with many polling stations opening several hours late, and some attacked by armed men. Voting was held overnight, and on Sunday in some areas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The electoral commission says the opposition parties should take their complaints to court and is pressing ahead with the release of results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A candidate needs to have the most votes nationwide and at least a quarter of ballots cast in 25 of the 36 states, plus Abuja, to be declared the winner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If those thresholds are not reached then there will be a run-off round between the top two candidates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after serving two terms, marked by economic stagnation and growing insecurity around the country - from an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, a nationwide crisis of kidnapping for ransom and separatist attacks in the south-east.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The election had been seen as a referendum on his time in office but Mr Tinubu seems to have managed to mobilise his supporters to vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on Tuesday, a group of angry protesters denounced the electoral commission, known as Inec, outside the national collation centre in the capital, Abuja.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everything happening there is all lies, all lies, lies... they are cooking up results," one man told the BBC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another group held a counter-protest, urging the electoral commission to "complete your job" and calling on "Nigerians to stand up for democracy".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bola Tinubu from Nigeria's ruling party has taken a strong lead as results are declared from Saturday's presidential election, amid opposition protests.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Tinubu, 70, a wealthy businessman and former governor of Lagos state, has won 36% of the vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has 29%, while third-party candidate Peter Obi has 25%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The parties of both Mr Abubakar and Mr Obi have called for the election to be cancelled and rerun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They alleged that the inability of the electoral commission to upload results to its website showed that the results had been manipulated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many voters reported problems with uploading results through the new electronic voting system, which was intended to speed up the process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were also widespread delays, with many polling stations opening several hours late, and some attacked by armed men. Voting was held overnight, and on Sunday in some areas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The electoral commission says the opposition parties should take their complaints to court and is pressing ahead with the release of results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A candidate needs to have the most votes nationwide and at least a quarter of ballots cast in 25 of the 36 states, plus Abuja, to be declared the winner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If those thresholds are not reached then there will be a run-off round between the top two candidates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after serving two terms, marked by economic stagnation and growing insecurity around the country - from an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, a nationwide crisis of kidnapping for ransom and separatist attacks in the south-east.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The election had been seen as a referendum on his time in office but Mr Tinubu seems to have managed to mobilise his supporters to vote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on Tuesday, a group of angry protesters denounced the electoral commission, known as Inec, outside the national collation centre in the capital, Abuja.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everything happening there is all lies, all lies, lies... they are cooking up results," one man told the BBC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another group held a counter-protest, urging the electoral commission to "complete your job" and calling on "Nigerians to stand up for democracy". BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>