Nigeria Presidential Election, Ruling Party's 'Tinubu' Elected... Opposition Claims "Vote Rigging"

In Nigeria's presidential election, Bola Tinubu (70), the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was elected. He is regarded as a figure who has exerted influence behind the scenes in politics. The opposition claims that the vote count was manipulated and is demanding a re-election.

Foreign media, citing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the 1st (local time), reported that Tinubu received a total of 8.79 million votes, defeating candidates such as Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 6.98 million votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) with 6.1 million votes, and was elected president.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Nigerian election law, to be elected president, a candidate must secure at least 25% of the votes in at least 24 of the 36 states. Tinubu reportedly met this condition as well. Peter Obi, who enjoyed strong support from young people and urban residents and led various opinion polls, sparked the 'Obidients' (followers of Obi) syndrome but ultimately did not win.

Tinubu served two terms as governor of Lagos State, the economic hub in the southwest of Nigeria, from 1999 to 2007. During his tenure as governor, foreign media reported that he achieved results such as reducing crime rates and improving urban traffic congestion.

In the previous presidential election, he played the role of a 'kingmaker' by contributing to the election of former President Muhammadu Buhari. After running in this election, he faced allegations of corruption but overcame them based on his financial resources and party base.

Having seized power in Nigeria, Tinubu faces numerous challenges, including controlling the ongoing Islamic insurgency in the northeast and resolving repeated incidents of kidnappings and killings by armed groups. Addressing the depleted national treasury and solving fuel and power shortages are also tasks at hand. Nigeria's long-standing corruption is also expected to require improvement.

After the vote count results were announced, the opposition parties PDP and LP, along with other minor parties, issued a joint statement raising suspicions of electoral fraud.

They claimed, "The results announced at the counting centers were manipulated. The will of Nigerians expressed through their votes was not properly reflected." The opposition also argued on the 28th of last month, while the counting was still underway, that the results were manipulated, calling for the election to be invalidated and a re-election to be held.

This election, which began on the 25th, seemed to proceed without major issues, but in some polling stations, voting started late due to lack of preparation, causing voting to extend well beyond the scheduled time. Foreign media reported that many areas conducted manual vote counting. However, the electoral commission dismissed allegations of vote manipulation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.