Elections continued today in Nigeria in some parts of the country where technical and other problems prevented a vote scheduled for the day before. Elsewhere, vote counting was already underway after yesterday’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
Portal/Temilade Adelaja
The electoral commission announced overnight that official national results can be expected later tonight. The final result of the election is expected within five days.
largely peaceful process
Nearly 90 million eligible voters were called to name the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who was barred from running after two terms. The result of the presidential election was completely open.
With the exception of a few violent incidents, the vote was largely peaceful. Around 400,000 security forces were deployed across the country to secure the election. In previous years, elections in Nigeria were often accompanied by violence, logistical problems and allegations of voter fraud.
Runoff elections may be necessary
A total of 17 men and one woman have applied to succeed Buhari. For the first time since the end of military rule in 1999, the dominance of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the larger opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been challenged by a third likely candidate: the 61-year-old Labor Party. . The party challenged former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu of the APC and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
An exciting race was expected, which could also end with a second round. To be president, a candidate must receive not only the most votes, but also at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the 36 states. If no candidate meets these conditions, a runoff must be held three weeks later.