- Presidential election marred by technical problems
- Winner Tinubu says the vote is credible
- Challenger Obi vows to overturn the outcome in court
- After a lively campaign, voter turnout was at record lows
ABUJA, March 2 (Portal) – Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he won Saturday’s election, calling Bola Tinubu’s victory fraudulent and vowing to claim the top post through legal means.
Tinubu, the ruling party’s candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa’s most populous nation on Wednesday with 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the issues reported had not impacted the overall outcome.
The opposition’s lead candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who came second with 29% of the vote, also said later in the day that he would challenge the result in court as fraud.
Obi, an outsider popular with young and educated urban voters, got 25%, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Let me assure all Nigerians that we will explore all legal and peaceful options to reclaim our mandate,” Obi, 61, told a news conference in the capital Abuja, making his first public statements since voting on Saturday.
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“We won the election and we will prove it to the Nigerians,” he said.
Opposition parties said the vote was rigged after a new technology INEC promised would make the process more transparent, rather than failing and eroding trust.
“The good and hardworking people of Nigeria have been robbed again by our supposed leaders,” Obi said. He did not elaborate on his allegations, saying evidence would be presented in court.
There have been numerous legal challenges to the results of Nigeria’s past presidential elections, but none have been successful.
The election dispute comes as Nigeria grapples with Islamist insurgencies, an epidemic of kidnapping for ransom, farmer-herder conflicts, high inflation, widespread food insecurity and cash shortages that have thrown people’s daily lives into chaos.
“The elections over the weekend were neither free nor fair,” Atiku told journalists, adding that he would challenge the results in court.
“The processes and results (were) grossly flawed and must be questioned by all of us.”
RECORD LOW TURNOUT
Labor Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi waits at a polling station to cast his ballot during the Nigerian presidential election in his hometown in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria, February 25, 2023. Portal/Temilade Adelaja
Both candidates questioned figures that showed low turnout at a time when there were record numbers of registered voters.
According to INEC, the total number of votes cast was almost 25 million, from 87 million people with voting cards and eligible voters, which corresponds to a turnout of 29%.
Tinubu was declared the winner with 8.79 million votes. Nigeria has a population of more than 200 million.
European Union and Commonwealth election observers reported a number of problems with the election, including widespread technical flaws in systems designed to prevent rigging and improve transparency. They criticized INEC for poor planning but did not claim fraud.
Nigeria has a long history of political violence, although the atmosphere was mostly calm after the contentious vote.
“I appeal to all Nigerians to remain peaceful, law-abiding and behave responsibly,” Obi said.
Tinubu has already received congratulations from several foreign leaders, including Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Nigeria’s former colonial ruler and one of its closest diplomatic allies.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also congratulated Tinubu and urged the Nigerian authorities to carefully consider any concerns and take action to resolve outstanding issues.
INEC issued a statement on Thursday dismissing media reports that the problems with one of its new tools — a secure portal for broadcasting and viewing results — were part of an election-rigging plot.
“It is… inconceivable that the Commission would reverse and undermine its own innovations. The public is advised to ignore the reports,” it said.
Obi’s slick social media campaign and his position as a challenger to the two parties that have alternated power since the end of army rule in 1999 earned him a loyal following among young voters who call themselves Obidients.
Septuagenarians Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, and Abubakar, a former vice president, were both seen as candidates for the establishment. While neither generated the visible enthusiasm that was aimed at Obi, both had powerful political machines and decades of networking behind them.
Obi’s challenge appeared to throw the contest wide open and spur some voters’ hopes for change after years of mounting hardship and violence under outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, 80, a former army general.
Additional reporting from MacDonald Dzirutwe and Tim Cocks in Lagos; writing from Estelle Shirbon; Edited by Andrew Heavens and Deepa Babington
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