General elections were held in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
on 23 February 2019 to elect the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
,
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
,
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and the
Senate. The elections had initially been scheduled for 16 February, but the Electoral Commission postponed the vote by a week at 03:00 on the original polling day, citing logistical challenges in getting electoral materials to polling stations on time. In some places, the vote was delayed until 24 February due to electoral violence. Polling in some areas was subsequently delayed until 9 March, when voting was carried out alongside gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
The elections were the most expensive ever held in Nigeria, costing ₦69 billion (US$625 million) more than the 2015 elections.
Incumbent president
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
won his reelection bid, defeating his closest rival
Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
by over 3 million votes. He was issued a Certificate of Return, and was sworn in on 29 May 2019, the former date of
Democracy Day.
Electoral system
The President of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
is elected using a modified two round system, to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 36
states. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round is held.
The 109 members of the
Senate were elected from 109 single-seat constituencies (three in each state and one for the
Federal Capital Territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
) by
first-past-the-post voting
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
. The 360 members of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
were also elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.
Presidential candidates
Party primaries
PDP
The People's Democratic Party held its presidential primaries on 5 October 2018, at the
Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium
Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, on the north end of the city in the Omagwa neighbourhood.
The stadium is named after Adokiye Amiesimaka, a former player with Nigeria's National football team who was amo ...
,
Port Harcourt,
Rivers State
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...
. Thirteen aspirants contested for the ticket of the PDP, with
Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
emerging the winner.
APC
Though some party members aspired for office of the president, notably, Dr.
SKC Ogbonnia, Chief
Charles Udeogaranya, and Alhaji
Mumakai-Unagha, the incumbent President
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
was selected as the sole candidate of the
All Progressives Congress party primaries held on 29 September 2018 amidst charges of imposition.
Other candidates
*Chike Ukaegbu, founder of Startup52, is the presidential candidate of AAP.
*
Donald Duke
Donald Duke (born 30 September 1961 in Calabar) is a Nigerian politician. He was the Governor of Cross River State, Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential candidate for Social Democratic Party, SDP.
Perso ...
, a former governor of
Cross River State
)
, image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint ...
, is the presidential candidate of the
SDP.
*
Fela Durotoye, motivational speaker and presidential candidate of
Alliance for New Nigeria
Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) is a political party in Nigeria.
It was founded in March, 2017 by some politically concerned Nigerians. The current National Chairman of the party is Mr. Emmanuel Dania. The party got officially registered and annou ...
.
*
Oby Ezekwesili
Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili (born 28 April 1963) is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the Worl ...
, former Minister of Education and leader of the
Bring Back Our Girls campaign. She ended her campaign on January 24, 2019 to combine support with other candidates to support a bid against APC and PDP.
*
Tope Fasua, founder and National Chairman of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party.
[22 Other Nigerians Eyeing Buhari's Job]
Premium Times, 6 March 2018
*
Rabiu Kwankwaso
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, former governor of Kano State.
*
Sule Lamido, a former governor of
Jigawa State.
*
Ahmed Makarfi, former chairman of the
People's Democratic Party National Caretaker Committee.
[
*Obadiah Mailafia, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and candidate of the African Democratic Congress.
* Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the CBN and Professor of Practice at ]Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...
.
*Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, oil business mogul and presidential candidate for the Peoples Trust.
* Remi Sonaiya, member of the KOWA Party and former university lecturer.
* Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist, pro-democracy campaigner and publisher of news website Sahara Reporters
Sahara Reporters is an online news agency based in New York City that focuses on promoting citizen journalism by encouraging everyday people to report stories about corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Africa, with s ...
.
* Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, former Minister of Special Duties.[
]
Presidential debates
A presidential and vice-presidential debate was organised by the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), with invitations extended to five of the 78 presidential candidates. The Debate Group explained the exclusion of other candidates as a measure to ensure the effectiveness of the debate and not an endorsement of the candidates chosen.
The vice presidential debate was held on 14 December 2018, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels in Abuja. All invited vice presidential candidates were present, with candidates discussing health, education, security, economy and foreign affairs policies plans.
The presidential debate occurred on 19 January 2019, and took place at the same venue. The two leading presidential contestants were absent, with Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
leaving the venue upon discovering that Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015.
Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...
was absent. Fela Durotoye (ANN), Oby Ezekwesili
Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili (born 28 April 1963) is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the Worl ...
(ACPN) and Kingsley Moghalu (YPN) continued the debate, while criticising the absence of the others. Mark Eddo moderated the debate.
Opinion polls
Conduct
Immediately following the elections there were claims of widespread fraud by the opposition. The claims included accusations of ballot box snatching, vote-trading and impersonation. There were also claims that caches of explosives were found by police. Losing candidate Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007
*Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor
Middle name
* Abubakar Ati ...
filed a case in the Nigerian supreme court citing widespread irregularities in the polls . However the court dismissed his case, saying that Atiku has failed to prove widespread fraud committed by the electoral team of Buhari. The court also dismissed an allegation which said that Buhari lied about his academic background.
The African Union said the elections were "largely peaceful and conducive for the conducting of credible elections." The electoral commission also described the elections as mostly peaceful. On the contrary, US-based organisation Freedom House severely criticised the conduct, saying that they were marred by irregularities and intimidation.
Results
President
The results of the presidential election were announced in the early hours of 27 February 2019.
By state
Senate
Senate President Bukola Saraki (PDP) was defeated in Kwara
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 internatio ...
Central by the APC candidate.
Currently, 64 incumbent Senators will not be returning as members of the Ninth Senate, having been defeated during the elections. While the APC will have a simple majority of votes in the Senate, it will not have a supermajority (74 votes), meaning it cannot push through constitutional amendments on its own. Three Senate seats have yet to be filled.
House of Representatives
Governors
On 2 March 2019, elections were held for governors of 29 of the 36 states of Nigeria. Elections were suspended on the original date in Rivers State
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...
. They were later held on April 3, where the INEC declared that incumbent Wike won re-election.
References
{{Nigerian elections
Presidential elections in Nigeria
Parliamentary elections in Nigeria
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
February 2019 events in Nigeria
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results