Elections in Nigeria: against a backdrop of tension around the count, the pro-government candidate Bola Tinubu is proclaimed winner

The candidate of the ruling party in Nigeria, Tinubu Ballwon the first round of presidential elections in Africa’s most populous country with 8.8 million votes against 6.9 million of its main rival, according to the complete results published on Wednesday.

There National Electoral Commission (INEC) has yet to confirm whether he also secured 25% of the vote in at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states and in Abuja, the federal capital, to declare his final election victory.

Nigeria’s main opposition parties called on Tuesday to cancel and repeat the presidential elections the African country held last Saturday, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of fraud while the vote count continues.

In this context of tension, the international community called for calm and to avoid incitement to violence.

“This election is not free and far from fair and transparent. We demand that this sham election be canceled immediately,” he told reporters in the country’s capital Abuja on Tuesday. Julius Aburenational chairman of the Labor Party (LP).

“We also call for new elections to be held in accordance with the procedure established by INEC,” added Abure, who also spoke on behalf of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

The next president of the country must obtain, in addition to the majority of the votes, more than a quarter of the votes cast in at least two thirds of the Nigerian states.

The opposition has already rejected the first figures published on Monday, after the electronic transmission of results from polling stations could not be fully carried out, which the CENI attributed to “technical problems”.

It was the first time Nigeria had used the technology in general elections, adopted to prevent possible attempts at voter fraud.

Also yesterday, the former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) asked the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buharicancel the elections and repeat them, stressing that “the electoral process has been corrupted”.

Obasanjo accused INEC officials of “supposedly” preventing the operation of this system in order to manipulate the results.

Eighteen people are running in this presidential race, but polls have shown that only three have a chance of winning: Tinubu, Abubakar and Obi.

The winner of the election will inherit a nation plagued by growing insecurity in parts of the country, with constant attacks by criminal gangs who kidnap civilians for lucrative ransom, jihadist groups and pro-independence rebels.

It will also have to deal with the devaluation of the local currency (naira), galloping inflation and high unemployment, as Nigeria stands out as Africa’s top oil producer and the continent’s largest economy.

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) on Tuesday expressed concern by the tensions recorded during the electoral recount in Nigeria.

“We would like to remind all interested parties that the electoral process is still ongoing. While we recognize that the recount at all levels is an essential part of the process, we urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to expedite the transparent release of results,” they said in a joint statement.

ECOWAS and the AU indicated that this process should be completed as soon as possible “to relieve anxiety and tension”. In this regard, they called on political parties to refrain from using “provocative language” and disseminating misinformation, which “would only exacerbate division and violence at this critical moment” when the “dialogue ” is necessary.

“We urge the electorate to maintain the patience they have shown so far in the electoral process and to wait for the official publication of the results of the polls,” they stressed, adding that security organizations must also proceed ” with the utmost respect for the rule of law.” “.

For its part, the European Union demanded on Tuesday that all political actors in Nigeria respect the electoral process and remain calm, while the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria proceeds to the official poll.

“The EU looks forward to the announcement of the results and calls on all parties to respect the process and to remain peaceful and calm as the CNEI conducts the review,” EU High Representative for Policy said. in a press release. Joseph Borrell

The UN has also spoken out on the situation in Nigeria. The international body called for calm and asked to avoid “behaviours such as hate speech, misinformation or incitement to violence” by the actors concerned.

In a statement by the Secretary-General’s Spokesperson, the UN said that at this time, one should refrain “from any conduct that could undermine the electoral process, and ultimately peace and stability in Nigeria. “.

(With information from EFE and Europa Press)

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