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Polling stations have opened in Nigeria for Africa's biggest presidential election, with incumbent Goodluck Jonathan seen as frontrunner.
His main challenge is expected to come from Muhammadu Buhari, an ex-military leader popular in the north.Before the polling stations opened there were two explosions in the north-east city of Maiduguri, though no injuries have been reported.
Voters have begun registering, and voting will start at 1230 (1130 GMT).
'Smooth start' Mr Jonathan has staked his reputation on the conduct of the election, repeatedly promising it will be free and fair.
Africa's largest oil producer has long been plagued by corruption and has a history of vote fraud and violence.
In Maiduguri, an explosion tore through the election commission's local office on Friday night, and there was another blast at a police station early on Saturday.The city, in Borno state, was also hit by bomb blasts during the parliamentary election a week ago.
But elsewhere in Borno - one of Nigeria's poorest areas - officials said the voter registration process was running smoothly.
"Everything's going well. People are co-operating, there is security, there are ballot papers. I think this is best election ever," a presiding officer told the BBC.
Voters expressed hope that the election would be fairer than previous votes.
Williams Beacher, a voter in Kano, said he had confidence in the new election chiefs.
"In previous elections, before we finish casting our vote, the national result had already been announced," he said.
'Model for Africa' Allegations of ballot-stuffing plagued the 2007 election, which brought Mr Jonathan to power as the vice-president.
He took over as president in 2010 when the incumbent died, becoming the first leader from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
Although he enjoys huge popularity in the south of the country, he is sometimes characterised as a technocrat lacking in charisma.
His other main challengers for the presidency are former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, though both are seen as rank outsiders.
Mr Jonathan's People's Democratic Party lost seats in a parliamentary election last week.But he remains favourite in opinion polls, and his chances have been boosted after Mr Buhari and Mr Ribadu failed to agree a formal alliance to run against him.
The relatively successful conduct of the parliamentary election has increased confidence in the ability of the electoral commission, Inec, to ensure a fair presidential vote.
However, bomb blasts and other attacks killed dozens in the run-up to the polls.
With 74 million registered voters, Nigeria has the biggest electorate on the continent.
The head of the African Union's observer mission, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, said some shortcomings had been found with the election process but he was confident the electoral commission would resolve them.
"If Nigeria gets it right, it will impact positively on the rest of the continent and show the rest of the world that Africa is capable of managing its electoral processes," said Mr Kufuor.
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