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Bola Tinubu is Nigeria's president-elect: Why is an angry Opposition calling for fresh elections?
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  • Bola Tinubu is Nigeria's president-elect: Why is an angry Opposition calling for fresh elections?

Bola Tinubu is Nigeria's president-elect: Why is an angry Opposition calling for fresh elections?

Isha Mehrotra • March 1, 2023, 13:54:04 IST
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The Opposition in Nigeria has rejected the presidential election results which declared the ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu as the winner. The parties have called the Saturday polls a ‘sham’ and are demanding a revote

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Bola Tinubu is Nigeria's president-elect: Why is an angry Opposition calling for fresh elections?

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, has won Nigeria’s presidential elections by securing 37 per cent, or nearly 8.8 million, of the total votes cast. As per the results announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on early Wednesday (1 March), the main Opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar garnered 29 per cent or 6.98 million votes, while Peter Obi, an outsider candidate popular among the younger voters, won 25 per cent or around 6.1 million votes, reported Associated Press (AP). The country’s electoral law states that a candidate can be declared a winner if they win more votes than their rivals, provided they bag 25 per cent of the vote in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and the capital city Abuja. After his victory was announced, the president-elect expressed gratitude to his supporters in Abuja and tried to strike a conciliatory tone with his political opponents. “I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together”. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together,” Tinubu was further quoted as saying by AP. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have rejected the results and are demanding fresh elections. Let’s understand this in detail. ‘Sham’ elections The Opposition in Africa’s most populous nation has called for scrapping the presidential elections held last Saturday (25 February), describing them as a “sham”. “I demand that this sham of an election be cancelled and we call on INEC to conduct fresh elections within the window period provided by the electoral act,” Julius Abure, chairman of Obi’s Labour Party, said, as per BBC. Abubakar’s Peoples Democratic party (PDP), the main opposition party, has also backed the demand for a revote, along with the small African Democratic Congress (ADC).

PDP and Labour Party have also sought the resignation of the chairman of the government’s electoral commission, Mahmood Yakubu.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Opposition leaders alleged a flawed process that led to technical problems, delays in the opening of polling stations on the day of the elections, violence at some units and voter intimidation, reported The Washington Post. [caption id=“attachment_12225612” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]Peter Obi Peter Obi, the outsider candidate, has bagged the third position in Nigeria’s presidential election results. AP File Photo[/caption] Voting was also conducted overnight and continued on Sunday in some areas. “The results being declared at the National Collation centre have been heavily doctored and manipulated and do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians expressed at the polls,” the main Opposition parties said in a joint statement, as per Reuters. Some protesters also repudiated the results, accusing the election commission of irregularities. “Everything happening there is all lies, all lies, lies… they are cooking up results,” a man told BBC. This was the first time in the Nigerian national election that electronic devices were used, which were meant to speed up the process. The Opposition alleged the new electronic system “lacked transparency”, adding that the INEC’s inability to upload results to its website showed the results were “manipulated”. Many voters encountered problems uploading results through this electronic voting system, reported BBC. Peter Sogbetun, a driver in Lagos, told The Guardian: “They are rigging it. This is what the delay is about. I can get online and upload or download or whatever in one minute so what is taking them so long?”. The election commission had promised to upload results from each polling unit to its website, however, most units could not do it immediately. Due to this, the results had to be manually compiled inside ward and local government counting centres like in previous polls, as per Reuters. “This election was not free and was far from being fair or transparent,” Abure said at the news conference. ALSO READ: Could Nigeria’s cash shortage hurt the presidential vote? What are election observers saying?

Analysts say the poor planning of INEC has raised questions about the election process in Nigeria.

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“People definitely have a reason to ask questions, and INEC definitely has a lot of questions to answer,” Tunde Ajileye, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical intelligence consultancy, told The Washington Post. He also underlined the failure of INEC on multiple accounts, with several of the election body’s officials arriving hours late to polls on the voting day and the commission’s failure to publish results online. [caption id=“attachment_12225642” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]nigeria election results protest Some demonstrators held protests against the Nigerian presidential election results. AP[/caption] “There is a huge disparity between the actual experience of people and the promise that INEC made as to how the election would go,” Ajileye was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. As per CNN, Samson Itodo, the head of Yiaga Africa – Nigeria’s largest independent election monitoring body – said there was “serious cause for concern” about the election. Matthew Page, an associate fellow with Chatham House’s Africa Program, also said INEC made mistakes, some “deliberate” and others “unintentional”. “They raised the hopes about the election and its transparency, and then they dashed them,” Page told The Washington Post. “When the opposition says the process was broken, it’s hard to argue with them.” European Union observers said the electoral body’s failures “reduced trust in the process and challenged the right to vote”, reported The Guardian. Election body, ruling party refute allegations INEC has rejected the manipulation charges and dismissed the Opposition’s calls for a rerun. Rotimi Oyekanmi, a spokesman for Nigeria’s electoral body, said the election process was “free, fair and credible”. Responding to the allegations, INEC said, “Contrary to the insinuation by both parties, results emanating from the states point to a free, fair and credible process”. “It is only fair for aggrieved parties to allow the conclusion of the process and approach the courts with their evidences to pursue their cases,” the electoral body was quoted as saying by The Guardian. The electoral body also took “full responsibility” for the logistical problems and delays. According to NPR, INEC chairman Yakubu said on Tuesday, “Let me seize this opportunity to assure Nigerians that we’ll do whatever we can within the law to review issues arising about the conduct of elections. To review where review is absolutely necessary.” Tinubu’s campaign team has also slammed the Opposition parties over the call for fresh elections. “If you’re not prepared to accept the shock of defeat, you have no moral rights to enjoy the fruits of victory,” its spokesman Dele Alake said, as per BBC. Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress party has also urged the Opposition to accept defeat and not create trouble. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.

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NewsTracker Nigeria Nigeria Elections Bola Tinubu Nigeria presidential elections Nigeria presidential election results
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Written by Isha Mehrotra
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Sub-Editor at Firstpost. Writing Explainers on everything from politics to space. see more

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