- Nigeria’s ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu took the lead in the presidential election.
- PDP & the Labour Party have both claimed that the new electronic voting system lacks transparency.
- This was the first national election in which an electronic device was used to authenticate voters.
After results from 14 of the country’s 36 states were released, Nigeria’s ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu took the lead in the presidential election.
Mr Tinubu received slightly more than 44% of the votes cast. Atiku Abubakar, his main rival, has nearly 33% of the vote.
Labour’s Peter Obi has nearly 18% after defeating Mr Tinubu in the country’s largest city, Lagos.
Mr Abubakar’s and Mr Obi’s parties walked out of the venue where the results were announced on Monday.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party have both claimed that the new electronic voting system lacks transparency.
This was the first national election in which an electronic device was used to authenticate voters.
The opposition parties’ complaints have been dismissed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec).
Its chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated that the results announcement would continue.
Observers from the European Union said the electoral body’s poor planning and communication undermined trust in the process.
The PDP representative at the Abuja polling station described the process as fraudulent and accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of colluding with Inec. The Labour Party requested that the announcements be halted or that the election be cancelled and rerun.
Those who are unhappy with the results should go to court, according to the APC, and the parties should first let the process run its course.
Since the end of military rule in 1999, the APC and PDP have dominated Nigeria.
Mr Peter Obi ran for the first time as a candidate from the previously unknown Labour Party, promising to challenge the two-party system.
He has the backing of many young people, who account for one-third of registered voters. There are 15 other contenders.
Mr Tinubu has received the most votes in six states, Mr Abubakar has received five, and Mr Obi has received three.
To win in the first round, a candidate must receive 25% of the votes cast in at least 25 of the 36 states, as well as the most votes cast nationwide.
If those thresholds are not met, the top two candidates will compete in a second round run-off.
[embedpost slug=”/nigerians-vote-in-a-heated-presidential-election/”]
