News / Nigeria

Nigeria opposition wins presidential election

Tuesday, 31 March 2015 5:21 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 31 March 2015 5:42 PM ]

A man walks past a billboard of Mohammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, and other party candidates in Lagos, March 31, 2015. © AFP

Nigeria’s main opposition group All Progressives Congress (APC) has won the presidential election in the country, which is grappling with threats from the Boko Haram Takfiri militants.

On Tuesday, asked whether the opposition led by the former military ruler, Mohammadu Buhari, was declaring victory over the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), APC spokesman Lai Mohammed said, “Yes,” adding that the country was “witnessing history.”

“This is the first time the opposition has voted a government out of power in Nigeria’s history,” Mohammed stated.

With 35 of Nigeria’s 36 states declaring results, Buhari had polled 14.951 million votes to sitting president Goodluck Jonathan’s 12.827 million - a lead of more than 2 million votes.

The winning candidate will only avoid a run-off if he gains at least 25-percent support in two-thirds of all the states.

Most of the remaining states are located in the opposition candidate’s stronghold in the country’s northern parts, which are hit hardest by the acts of violence committed by Boko Haram.

Buhari, making his fourth run at the presidency, has vowed to end corruption and ensure peace and stability in the most populous nation of Africa.

People crowd around a television in the Lagos on March 31, 2015 to follow developments concerning Nigeria’s presidential election. © AFP

Nigerians turned out en masse to vote in the presidential election over the weekend. The country’s almost 60 million registered voters also cast their ballots in parliamentary elections, with 739 candidates competing for a place in Nigeria’s 109-seat Senate and 1,780 seeking election to the 360-seat Hous of Representatives during the parliamentary polls.

The vote was marred by violence, with more than 40 people killed in attacks by Boko Haram in the northeastern state of Borno and another 14 killed in attacks in neighboring Gombe State.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” vowed to disrupt the polls by violent attacks.

The Takfiri militants have claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of the country since the beginning of their militancy in 2009, which has so far left over 13,000 people dead and displaced 1.5 million.

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