国际英语新闻:Technical Problems Mar Nigerian Election; Voting Extended By a Day

A car bomb went off near a polling station in southeastern Enugu state, though no injuries were reported.​

The Independent National Electoral Commission announced that because of the technical problems, voting would be extended into Sunday.

"Whereas the process has gone on well in several places, in some others it has encountered some challenges, especially with the use of the card readers," the commission said in a statement on its website. "Consequently, accreditation has been slow in many places and has not commenced at all in some others."

Despite the delays, however, the vote appeared to be proceeding calmly.

"You can see the enthusiasm amongst the people. We want to exercise our vote," voter Samuel Eke told VOA in the southern city of Port Harcourt. "We have all the hope that materials were sent out to the various units. So maybe we'll give them some time."

The electoral commission's website went offline earlier Saturday when a hacker group calling itself the Nigerian Cyber Army attacked it, posting a message warning officials not to rig the polls.

Earlier in the week, both Jonathan and Buhari pledged to respect the outcome of the election as long as it was "free, fair and credible."

Jonathan, 57, is a Christian from the Niger Delta oil region in the south, while Buhari, 72, is a Muslim from the north. Pre-election polls showed the two in a very close race.

Preliminary results may be announced Sunday, though a final certified tally was not expected before Monday at the earliest.

Delayed in February

The vote was postponed in mid-February because of fighting and insecurity in the northeast where the Boko Haram insurgency has raged since 2009. The government's inability to stop the Islamist extremist group was a major issue during the campaign.

Security across Nigeria was tightened leading up to the election amid concerns that insurgents could attack polling stations.

In recent weeks, a multinational offensive drove Boko Haram from most of the towns it controlled in the northeast. On Friday, the Nigerian military said soldiers took back the town of Gwoza and destroyed the headquarters of Boko Haram's self-declared caliphate.

U.S. intelligence officials expressed caution about the report, saying that even if the militants had retreated, it did not necessarily mean they were near defeat.

Intelligence officials told VOA that Boko Haram has used strategic retreats in the past, only to wait, sometimes for weeks or more, for an opportunity to launch a devastating counterattack.

Stein and Ahmed reported from Kano. Also contributing was Katarina Hoije in Lagos, Ardo Hazzad in Bauchi, Ibrahima Yakubu in Kaduna, Kareem Haruna in Maiduguri and Hilary Uguru in Port Harcourt.