The 2023 Nigerian general election will be held, in large part, on 25 February and 11 March 2023. 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 ...
and
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 ...
will be
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
on 25 February, with 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 ...
ineligible to run, being term-limited.
Additionally, there will also be elections on the same day for the
Senate and 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 ...
. On 11 March, twenty-eight
gubernatorial elections will be held alongside elections to state
houses of assembly in all 36 states.
Two additional
gubernatorial elections will be held later in the year alongside potential rerun elections for regularly scheduled elections annulled from earlier in the year.
Electoral system
The President of Nigeria is elected using a modified
two-round system
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...
. 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 will be held.
The 109 members of the
Senate are 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. 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 ...
are also elected 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 ...
in single-member constituencies.
Similarly to the president, Governors are elected using a modified
two-round system
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...
. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state
local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The phrase i ...
. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.
The 991 members of the state
Houses of Assembly are elected using
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 ...
in single-member constituencies.
Federal elections
Presidential election
All Progressives Congress primary
With
President Muhammadu Buhari having been elected to the office of president twice, he is ineligible for reelection. In July 2021, national APC Caretaker Chairman and Yobe State Governor
Mai Mala Buni backed the consensus method of nominating a presidential candidate instead of the more common direct or indirect primary methods. There is no announced formal zoning agreement for the APC nomination, however, there have been calls from certain politicians and interest groups such as the Southern Governors' Forum to zone the nomination to the South as Buhari, a Northerner, was elected twice.
People's Democratic Party primary
In October 2021, newly-elected PDP Chairman
Iyorchia Ayu
Iyorchia Ayu (born 15 November 1952) is a Nigerian politician; he is the current Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee. A former Nigerian Senator, he was elected President of the Senate during the Nigerian Thi ...
backed the indirect primary method of nominating a presidential candidate instead of the direct or consensus methods. There was zoning agreement for the PDP nomination despite calls from politicians and interest groups such as the Southern Governors' Forum to zone the nomination to the South as the APC's Buhari, a Northerner, was elected twice. The party held its indirect presidential primary on 28 May 2022 and nominated
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 ...
—its 2019 nominee and former
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 ...
.
National Assembly elections
Senate elections
All 109 seats in the
Senate of Nigeria
The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...
will be up for election alongside the presidential and House of Representatives elections on 25 February 2023.
House of Representatives elections
All 360 seats in the
House of Representatives of Nigeria
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate is the upper chamber.
The House of Representatives has 360 members who are elected in single-member constituencies using the plurality ( ...
will be up for election alongside the presidential and Senate elections on 25 February 2023.
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
Elections will hold for the governorships of thirty of the 36
states of Nigeria. All but two will be held on 11 March 2023, while the
Kogi State
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...
and
Bayelsa State
Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...
elections will both hold later in 2023.
House of Assembly elections
Elections will be held for the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
of all 36
states of Nigeria on 11 March 2023.
Notes
References
{{Nigerian elections
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 ...