Abuja, Nigeria –
Each of the three frontrunners in Nigeria’s hotly contested presidential election is on the road to victory on Monday as preliminary results trickle in two days after Africa’s most populous country took to the polls. claimed to be advancing
Of Nigeria’s 36 states, only four had officially announced their results by noon on Monday, three of which were sent to ruling party candidate Boratinub. In the fourth election, the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won.
Also in the mix as a recognized frontrunner was Labor’s Peter Obi. The winner is not expected to be announced until at least Tuesday. After the last presidential election in 2019, it took officials four days to declare victory.
A run-off ballot will be held if no candidate receives the highest number of votes, securing at least one-fourth of the votes from two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital.
On Monday, the African Union Observer Mission said more than 80% of voting units had delayed voting, largely due to logistical problems caused by Nigeria’s currency swap program. , cash shortages occurred nationwide, making it difficult for voters and poll workers to get to polling places on Saturday. However, elections continued on Sunday in other states.
Observers from the African Union and a delegation from the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS said the elections were generally “encouraging”, with the exception of sporadic incidents of violence disrupting voting in some states. said.
After Tinub’s victory in Ekiti province, the incumbent party said it was on track to stay in power.
“If the information we are starting to receive from different parts of the country is correct, there is good reason to be optimistic that our candidate will win,” party leader Abdullahi Adam told the state news agency. There is,” he said. Nigeria.
Labor also claimed to have won, but Obi has yet to formally win in any of the states initially announced.
“We are far ahead, we are already leading, we have won in 24 states,” Labor spokesman Yunusa Tangko said. That candidate, Obi, has seen his popularity skyrocket in the polls in the weeks before the vote and is a surprise frontrunner for what is usually a two-horse race. The party blamed election officials for not being in their hometowns and said some of their supporters were denied the opportunity to vote.
With full results yet to be announced, analysts warn that early unsubstantiated victory claims will only deepen public mistrust in the electoral process and undermine the legitimacy of the polls.
“The three-party allegations are intended to motivate voters who are being asked to protect their ballot boxes from manipulation. It increases the risk of protests,” Mucahid Durmaz said. Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence company.
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Contributed by Associated Press writer Sam Mednick, who lives in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
