Elections in parts of Nigeria have been extended until Sunday after delays and a number of attacks.
The delays were "not widespread" but were still "a matter of concern", an election official told the BBC.
Technical problems with new biometric cards slowed down voter registration, even affecting President Goodluck Jonathan.
More than 20 people have reportedly been killed in various attacks by unknown gunmen.
Mr Jonathan is facing a strong challenge from Muhammadu Buhari.
The election is said to be the most closely fought since independence. The election as it happened.
It was postponed from mid-February to allow the army time to recapture territory from the Islamist militants of Boko Haram.
The two main candidates had pledged to prevent violence during and in the aftermath of the elections.
But
several hours after voting started, reports came in of violent
incidents at polling stations in which at least 24 were reported to have
been killed. Analysis: BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding
So who will win? I don't mean Goodluck Jonathan or Muhammadu Buhari.
I'm talking about the forces of democracy here versus the assortment of
groups busy trying to undermine this still-too-close-to-call election.
On
Saturday we saw militant attacks, election officials abducted, stolen
ballot boxes, a suspicious number of delays at some polling stations,
and - although this may be more chaos than conspiracy - serious doubts
raised about the efficacy of new voter registration machines.
In many countries all that might seem an overwhelming combination of negatives. But the positives should not be overlooked.
We've
seen the impressive patience, discipline - and in the troubled
north-east, pure courage - shown by most voters. Then there's the
increasingly sophisticated coalition of election observers, armed with
cameras and social media, furiously publishing data and hunting for
irregularities.
Those positives may not be enough to guarantee
this election is free and fair. But there's some reason for optimism.
Whether the loser accepts defeat is, unfortunately, a rather different
question.
Thousands of Nigerians turned out to vote, despite threats from Boko Haram to disrupt the poll.
"We
have suffered enough, fled our homes after many attacks," said Roda
Umar, a housewife from the former militant headquarters of Gwoza. "I'm
ready to endure the pain to vote."
Voters are also electing members of the house of representatives and the senate.
According to the Transitional Monitoring Group (TMG),
the largest body observing the elections, voting had started in 75% of
polling stations, while 92% had the materials they need to start the
process.
Voters need to register using biometric cards with their fingerprints before they can cast their vote.
However, there have been problems with card readers at many polling stations.
The
Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) said the accreditation
process had "gone on well in several places", but was "slow" or had
"not commenced at all" in others.
President Jonathan tried for some 50 minutes to register in his home
village of Otuoke, before coming back a second time. When the electronic
registration failed again, he had to be accredited manually before
casting his ballot paper.
Problems were also reported from the
north's biggest city of Kano, where thousands of voters waited for
election officials and voting materials to arrive.
"No-one has
shown up from Inec... This is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the
elections," Ismail Omar, a 65-year-old builder, told AFP.
Gen Buhari did not have any problems registering in his hometown, Daura.
After
voting, he told the BBC the process was "in order but I have been
watching activities in other states, which is disappointing, but overall
it's on course".
Nigeria at a glance:
Two main presidential candidates:
Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC), Muslim northerner, ex-military ruler, fourth presidential bid Goodluck Jonathan, People's Democratic Party (PDP), Christian southerner, incumbent president, second-term bid
Years of military rule ended in 1999 and the PDP has been in power ever since
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and leading oil producer
With a population of more than 170m, it is also Africa's most populous nation
Unpredictable poll Nigeria decides 2015: Full coverage Attacks were reported in north-eastern Gombe state, including incidents where gunmen opened fire on voters at polling stations.
It is unclear whether the attacks were the work of Boko Haram militants or political thugs.
However, Mr Jonathan told the BBC's Peter Okwoche that most of the violence in Gombe was not directly related to the elections.
"The
war against terrorists is going on, voting or no voting," he said.
"There was a conflict, kind of a crossfire, between soldiers and
terrorists that had nothing to do with the elections."
In other incidents:
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 25 people on the eve of the elections in Buratai village in Borno
The Inec website was briefly hacked by
a group calling itself the Nigeria Cyber Army, which warned the body
not to rig the elections
There was a controlled car bomb explosion at a polling station in Enugu state after the authorities discovered a car bomb
According to the TMG, intimidation of election monitors at three polling stations in the south
A soldier was killed in an ambush near the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt, the military said
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has dominated Nigerian politics
since 1999, but Gen Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) is viewed
as a serious challenge.
Some 800 people were killed after the 2011
contest between Mr Jonathan and Gen Buhari, a former military ruler,
who alleged fraud.
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