AWKA, Nigeria: Nigeria’s Anambrva state went to the polls on Saturday to choose its next governor, with the result viewed as a benchmark of public support for the country’s president before a national vote in 2015.

Some 1.8 million voters are registered to decide the successor to incumbent Peter Obi, who steps down in March next year after completing a maximum two, four-year terms.

Fears of violence linked to the election have seen stringent security measures put in place in the mineral-rich southeast state, with restrictions on movement and a high police presence.

The state capital Awka was calm as voting began at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT), with security forces mounting road blocks and patrols, an AFP reporter in the city said.

A 24-hour restriction of movement in and out of Anambra was put in place at 6:00 pm on Friday.

“It (the election) is going fine for now but not without isolated challenges” such as the delivery of election material to some polling stations, said Kayode Idowu, a spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In all, 23 candidates are vying for the governorship, including Nigeria’s main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which has yet to hold Nigeria’s presidency since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999.

A win for President Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is likely to be seen as an indicator of public opinion before his expected campaign for re-election in 2015.

Jonathan, a southern Christian, is tipped to run again but has faced dissent within his party from some who believe he should make way for a northern, Muslim candidate.

Vote-rigging and election-linked violence have often marred recent polls in Nigeria. In 2011, some 800 people died in the Muslim-majority north after Jonathan’s election.

The last election in Anambra in 2010 was judged “credible” by US observers, although they criticised poor organisation at some polling stations.

On Friday, police said they had arrested more than 200 people who were preparing to enter Anambra, suspecting them of “criminal motives” to disrupt the ballot.

Results of the poll are not expected before Sunday, according to the INEC’s Idowu.