Nigerian presidential vote results expected Monday

Baku. 30 March. REPORT.AZ/ 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

Report informs referring to the Anadolu Agency, 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.