There are 93.4 million eligible voters for February 25 polls, the sixth since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria – On February 25, Nigerians will go to the polls to elect President Muhammadu Buhari’s substitute as he's serving out the second of his constitutionally permitted two four-year phrases.
Eighteen candidates are jostling to succeed him as chief of Africa’s largest financial system.
High contenders embody Bola Tinubu, a two-term former governor of Lagos and a serious stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) occasion in addition to the Peoples Democratic Get together’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, a former vice chairman who's gunning for the place a report sixth time.
Additionally within the race are the Labour Get together’s (LP) Peter Obi, a two-time former governor of Anambra, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, ex-defence minister and former governor of the northern hub Kano, on the ticket of the New Nigeria Individuals’s Get together (NNPP).
Who're the principle candidates?
Atiku Abubakar
The PDP stays Nigeria’s key opposition and Abubakar, a veteran who's on his sixth try and be president, is hoping to clinch the presidency and return the occasion, which was on the helm of affairs from 1999 to 2015, to energy.
He has hinged his marketing campaign on unifying what stays a divided nation and lifting Nigeria’s financial system, which has suffered two recessions in 4 years, out of the doldrums.
In Nigeria, which is cut up virtually evenly between Christians and Muslims, there's a gentlemanly settlement between the principle events to share energy between north and south, and Christians and Muslims. The outgoing Buhari is a northern Muslim.
Abubakar, like Buhari, is a northern Muslim – and ethnic Fulani – from the northeast. He has chosen Ifeanyi Okowa, the outgoing governor of Delta State within the south and Christian, as his working mate.
Bola Tinubu
Tinubu and Atiku, former political and enterprise associates, have been among the many founding fathers of the APC however sq. up on Saturday on totally different sides, with every hoping to drag one over the opposite.
The previous, a two-term governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s financial capital, is credited with elevating the state’s income, and supporters say he'll replicate his success on the nationwide stage.
He has courted controversy by doing what was thought-about unthinkable for greater than three many years, choosing Kashim Shettima, ex-governor of Borno, as his working mate. Tinubu and Shettima are each Muslims, from the southwest and northeast, respectively.
Forward of Saturday’s vote, they've argued that competency overrules faith.
Peter Obi
The previous governor of the southeastern state of Anambra, whose emergence and robust exhibiting to this point has successfully disrupted the normal two-horse race, can also be being projected as a shock winner of the vote.
A number of polls have predicted a win for the Labour Get together and Obi, who has a big following amongst Nigerian youths who're disenchanted with governance in Africa’s largest financial system. He was on the PDP ticket alongside Abubakar in 2019.
Obi, a rich capitalist famed for his frugality and overseeing an infrastructure drive throughout his time as governor is working with Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, a former senator from the northwestern state of Kaduna.
Rabiu Kwankwaso
Seen as a wildcard within the race, Kwankwaso comes with sufficient expertise to match the opposite frontrunners. A former two-time governor of Kano and defence minister, he has served within the two homes of parliament.
He's immensely in style among the many youth in his house area for his welfarist politics. One huge achievement was a major scholarship scheme that benefitted 1000's of scholars from low-income households in Kano, beforehand recognized for its excessive numbers of the almajirai, out-of-school little one beggars.
Kwankwaso is working alongside Isaac Idahosa, a bishop within the Pentecostal Christian denomination, who hails from Edo State within the south.
What are the important thing points on this election?
Buhari got here to energy promising to repair the financial system, in addition to tackling corruption and insecurity. However his presidency has been so underwhelming that even Tinubu, the APC’s nationwide chief, has repeatedly dissociated himself from the failings of the federal government.
The financial system has endured two recessions within the final 5 years, and the naira has plummeted to one-third of its worth in that point. There may be additionally insecurity, particularly within the northeast, northwest and southeast, the place a number of armed teams maintain grievances in opposition to the state and proceed to conduct frequent rounds of killings and kidnappings.
The present marketing campaign interval has centered on these similar points.
Are there any safety issues?
Along with insecurity in elements of the nation, there have been assaults on various state workplaces of the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC).
Whereas there's a long-running sample of violence round Nigeria’s normally keenly contested elections, consultants say the brand new wave comes with precision and class.
Nonetheless, INEC has mentioned it's not contemplating suspending the elections.
What number of elections are there?
The election cycle consists of elections for governorships and members of parliament on the federal and state ranges.
- Elections shall be held in all 109 senatorial districts and 360 constituencies in Nigeria’s bicameral federal legislature on February 25, the identical day because the presidential election.
- Two weeks later, 28 of the nation’s 36 states maintain the governorship and state parliament elections in March 2023.
The governing occasion enjoys a wide-margin majority within the legislature.
- Within the Senate, the APC has 66 seats, whereas the PDP, the principle opposition occasion, holds 38 seats. The remaining are distributed amongst different fringe events, besides for 3 vacant seats.
- Within the Home of Representatives, the APC controls 227 seats, with PDP having 121. One seat is vacant, whereas 11 different seats are shared amongst 5 smaller events.
How will voting be accomplished?
The upcoming vote may have extra know-how options within the electoral course of than in earlier elections.
- Parliamentary debates a few new electoral regulation ended final yr when President Buhari ultimately signed a invoice to that impact.
- Probably the most notable enchancment is the authorized backing for the electoral fee to make use of confirm and transmit outcomes electronically. The Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) has launched the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to accredit voters utilizing biometrics, and add outcomes.
- BVAS was test-run in an off-cycle election final yr.
Right here is how voting will occur:
- Voters go to the assigned polling cubicles because the polls open for voters’ accreditation.
- Often, votes are tallied within the presence of events’ brokers and voters after voting has ended. The outcomes are then transferred manually to a collation centre, which has beforehand left the method inclined to logistical challenges and in some circumstances, malpractice.
- In latest elections, the transmission of outcomes has been accomplished each manually and electronically. This time, issues turn out to be much more clear: outcomes from the polling items are scanned and uploaded to an internet portal accessible by registered members of the general public.
- Nonetheless, the handbook methodology stays the legally authorised methodology of transmission in accordance with the Electoral Act. Festus Okoye, chairman of INEC’s Data and Voter Schooling Committee, has mentioned the digital outcomes will solely be consulted within the case of disputes.
How are winners declared?
Within the presidential election:
- Past profitable a easy majority, the victorious candidate additionally has to have not less than 25 p.c of the votes solid in not less than 24 of the nation’s 36 states.
- If no candidate meets these standards, a run-off shall be carried out inside 21 days, with solely two candidates allowed to take part: the one with the best variety of votes in complete and the candidate who garnered the required 25 p.c votes in additional states than some other candidate.
- If there are two candidates who meet the second criterion, the candidate with the best vote tally shall be picked to run in opposition to the candidate with nearly all of the votes within the first spherical of voting.
- Basically, second place within the first voting spherical doesn't assure a spot within the run-off.
- The election might be cancelled if broad malpractice is recorded. On this case, a rerun shall be ordered as an alternative of a run-off.
In governorship and state parliament elections:
- The winner should get the best variety of votes and 25 p.c of the votes solid in two-thirds of the state’s native authorities areas.
Plugging a loophole
- The brand new laws has resolved a authorized loophole that beforehand existed. In line with Part 34 of the Electoral Act, if a candidate dies earlier than the polls open, INEC will droop the election for 14 days for the affected occasion to appoint a brand new candidate.
- If the incident occurs after polls have opened however no winner has been declared, INEC can delay the election as much as 21 days.
- On this case, whether it is an government function, the working mate takes over the ticket and the beneficiary picks their working mate.
- Within the case of a legislative function, the occasion has 14 days to appoint a brand new candidate.
- If the president-elect dies earlier than being sworn in, the vice president-elect shall be sworn in as an alternative and the brand new president-elect will nominate a brand new vice chairman which needs to be authorised by a plenary sitting of the Nationwide Meeting.
Ideology barometer
In elements of Africa, personality-driven politics and patronage tradition are nonetheless dominant, so ideology politics isn't as entrenched on the continent because it was underneath navy regimes.
Political actors are regularly crossing occasion divides and altering their stance on nationwide points relying on the stage of their profession and different variables in an electoral cycle.
Beneath is an approximate illustration of their ideological standing – economically and culturally.
When will we all know the outcomes?
The outcomes of the elections are normally introduced inside three to 5 days after the elections.
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