Less than 24 hours before polls open in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy is facing an unprecedented four-way race to the presidency marred by rampant Whatsapp conspiracy theories, fears of vote-buying, threats of violence against would-be voters, and at least one candidate assassination.
Nearly 100 million people in Nigeria are expected to vote Saturday to choose their next president and lawmakers in the National Assembly. Abuja’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) documented that upwards of 87 million people have already collected their voter cards, necessary to fill out a ballot, as of Thursday. INEC has documented 93.5 million registered voters.
To become president of Nigeria, a candidate must receive at least 25 percent of the votes in two-thirds of the country’s states. In Nigeria’s young republic – the country has only had elected presidents…
