The 2019 Kwara State gubernatorial election occurred on March 9, 2019. APC's

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (born 5 February 1960) is a Nigerian politician, who has served as governor of Kwara State since 2019. He was previously the CEO of First Fuels Limited. He contested unsuccessfully for the governor of Kwara State in 2003, 20 ...

polled 73.12% of the total votes, ahead of PDP's Razak Atunwa who got 25.31% of votes trailing behind by a margin of 216,792 votes, and several minor party candidates. APC won in all 16 LGAs of the state.

from Kwara Central senatorial district emerged winner at the

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

primary after defeating Yammah Abdullahi. His running mate is

Kayode Alabi Kayode Alabi (born 1 August 1963) is a Nigerian politician, who is deputy governor of Kwara State. He was born in Oro-Ago, Kwara State, Nigeria into the family of late Yahaya Samuel Alabi (1925–2007) Oro-Ago in Kwara State, he is the third ch ...

from Kwara South senatorial district. Of the 35 candidates who aspired for the governorship seat, 33 were male, two were female (although there were initially three females).

Electoral system

The Governor of Kwara State is elected using the

plurality voting system Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...

Primary election

PDP primary

The PDP

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

was held 30 September 2018. There were about 2,227 accredited delegate voters present from 193 wards across the 16 LGAs of the state. Razak Atunwa emerged winner with 1,555 votes defeating closest rival,

Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi Sha'aba Lafiagi was elected governor of Kwara State in January 1992 on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, and was removed from office by the administration of General Sani Abacha in November 1993. As governor he initiated construction ...

who polled 578 votes. In the course of the contest, eight out of 10 aspirants stepped down, leaving just: Hon. Razak Atunwa and Senator

, both lawmakers. Those who withdrew include: Mal. Bolaji Abdullahi, Prof. Suleiman Abubakar, Alh. Mohammed Ajia, Dr. Ali Ahmad, Hon. Haman Patigi, Alh. Ladi Hassan, Hon. Zakari Mohammed and Alhaji Saka Isau (SAN). The exercise was partly disrupted by thugs.

Candidates

* Party nominee: Razak Atunwa: Winner. * Running mate: Gbenga Makanjuola. *

* Bolaji Abdullahi (withdrew) * Suleiman Abubakar (withdrew) * Mohammed Ajia (withdrew) * Ali Ahmad (withdrew) * Haman Patigi (withdrew) * Ladi Hassan (withdrew) * Zakari Mohammed (withdrew) * Saka Isau (withdrew)

APC primary

The APC primary elections in

Kwara State Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

was held via direct primaries between Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October 2018. It was initially put on hold.

emerged the winner having polled 29,098 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Yammah Abdullahi with 22,116 votes and 23 other contestants as the party was reported to have officially handed out the names of 25 governorship candidates. Amongst which are Alh. Lukman Mustapha 14,233 votes, Prof. Oba AbdulRaheem 23,298; Alh. Hakeem Lawal 18,758 votes, Alh. Mooshood Murtala 9,511 votes, Isaq Modibbo Kawu 5,060 votes, Alh. Yakubu Gobir 2,420 votes, and Tajudeen Makama Audu 3,127 votes. Mohammed Belgore (SAN) and Alh. Yahaya Seriki stepped down in support of AbdulRasaq, while Saliu Mustapha and Mashood Mustapha were disqualified. The election was later in May 2019 nullified by the court.

Candidates

* Party nominee:

: Winner: 29,098 votes. * Running mate:

. * Yammah Abdullahi: 22,116 votes * Lukman Mustapha: 14,233 votes (withdrew) * Oba AbdulRaheem: 23,298 votes * Hakeem Lawal: 18,758 votes (withdrew) * Mooshood Murtala: 9,511 votes * Ishaq Modibbo Kawu: 5,060 votes (withdrew) * Yakubu Gobir: 2,420 votes (withdrew) * Tajudeen Makama Audu: 3,127 votes * Shuaib Abdulraheem (withdrew) * Shuaib Yarman (withdrew) * Tajudeen Laifiaji (withdrew) * Mohammed Dele Belgore (withdrew) * Yahaya Seriki (withdrew) * Saliu Mustapha (not cleared) * Mashood Mustapha (not cleared)

Results

A total of 35 candidates registered with the

Independent National Electoral Commission The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria. History Regulation and administration of elections The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...

to contest in the election. APC governorship aspirant,

, won election polling 331,546 votes, defeating PDP's Razak Atunwa who came second with 114,754 votes, and several minority party candidates, with an early lead. The total number of registered voters in

was 1,376,372 while 464,393 voters were accredited. Total number of votes cast was 463,427, while total number of valid votes was 453,433. Total rejected votes were 9,994.

By local government area

Here are the results of the election from the local government areas of the state for the two major parties. The total valid votes of 453,433 represents the 35 political parties that participated in the election. Blue represents LGAs won by AbdulRazaq. Green represents LGAs won by Atunwa.

References

{{Authority control Gubernatorial election 2019 Kwara State gubernatorial election Kwara State gubernatorial election Kwara State gubernatorial elections 2019 Kwara State elections 21st century in Kwara State