Abuja, Nigeria: Nigeria's presidential election was on Saturday (Feb 7) postponed on security grounds, handing a potential lifeline to the ruling party as it battles a persistent challenge from the main opposition.

The head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the delay after a closed-door meeting in Abuja that followed a recommendation for postponement from security chiefs, who said the military needed more time to secure areas under Boko Haram control. A new date for the poll has been set for 28 March for presidential and parliamentary elections. Gubernatorial and state assembly elections will be held on 11 April, INEC's Attahiru Jega said.

Jega said security chiefs advised a six-week postponement from the planned 14 February date as troops would not be available because of operations against the militants in the country's troubled northeast.

‘If the security of personnel, voters, election observers and election materials cannot be guaranteed, the lives of innocent young men and women and the prospect of free, fair and credible elections will be greatly jeopardised,’ he told reporters.

President Goodluck Jonathan has been locked in a tight race with the main opposition candidate, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. But with the campaign now extended, analyst Dawn Dimolo, of the africapractice consulting firm, said the advantage could swing in favour of Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP, never out of power since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999, has the power of incumbency and access to greater funds than Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC).

The extension could allow the PDP to claw back votes but could equally boost the APC, which has repeatedly claimed that the government was trying to scupper the vote, said Dimolo.

The APC said on Twitter: ‘Even if the election is postponed, Buhari will still win.’

Boko Haram violence intensifying

Troops from Nigeria, backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, have recently begun a joint fightback against Boko Haram insurgents because of increased fears to regional security. Since the turn of the year, the militant group has increased the intensity of its campaign, in part to further undermine the democratic process, which it views as un-Islamic.

Opposition Anger

Election monitors, including from the West African bloc ECOWAS and the European Union, are already on the ground and the international community has urged Nigeria to hold the election.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, on a whistlestop visit to Nigeria last month, said it was ‘imperative that elections happen on time, as scheduled.’

He suggested a link between peaceful and timely voting and further US help for the counter-insurgency.

In 2011, some 1,000 people were killed in post-poll rioting and there have been fears of a repeat. Ryan Cummings, chief Africa analyst at Red24 risk consultants, said there was no guarantee that a planned new regional force would make significant gains against Boko Haram before the end of March.