Osogbo ( Nigeria ) (AFP) - Voters in Osun State , in southwestern Nigeria, voted on Saturday to choose a new governor and began counting ballots, the outcome of which could determine the course of the presidential elections scheduled for February 2023.

The outcome of the election and the circumstances under which it takes place are a final indication of the dominant political parties, seven months before presidential elections in Africa's most populous country.

Osun State has 1.9 million registered voters, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria.

Polling stations officially opened at 07:30 GMT and closed at 13:30 GMT.

The winner of this ballot will be announced on Sunday, said election official Obemibo Adelosi in Osogbo, the state capital.

Two of the candidates vying for the Osun governorship are incumbent Governor Gboyga Oytola of the ruling All Progressives Congress party and Senator Ademola Adeleke of the opposition People's Democratic Party.

Osun is one of eight states in Nigeria's 36 states that did not hold gubernatorial elections simultaneously with the rest of the country due to legal challenges to the earlier results.

On Wednesday, the candidates signed an agreement pledging to accept the election result.

And the police announced the deployment of 23,000 personnel, as helicopters and drones flew to ensure the conduct of the elections without clashes.

Acts of violence were recorded before the polls, as armed men attacked the residence of the Labor Party candidate, Yusef Lawson, but he was not at home at the time.

Nigeria's history is full of turmoil during elections.

In 2011, 800 people were killed in post-election violence.