the pro-government candidate Bola Tinubu wins the presidential elections

First modification: 03/01/2023 – 03:47

The candidate of the ruling party of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, won the presidential elections, as confirmed by the Electoral Commission on Wednesday, March 1, in the most populous country in Africa, an overwhelming victory, according to official results.

Tinubu, of the Congress of Progressives APC), obtained 8.8 million votes, according to a compilation by states carried out by AFP.

He led his two main rivals by a comfortable margin in one of the closest elections in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Atiku Abubakar, a candidate for the main opposition party (the PDP, which ruled the country from 1999 to 2015), won 6.9 million votes.

He is closely followed by the outsider of these presidential elections, Peter Obi, from the Labor Party (LP), who has aroused great hopes among young people and has garnered 6.1 million votes.

After the recount, the National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed that Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, had 25% of the votes in at least two thirds of the 36 states of the federation, as well as in the territory of the capital Abuja, to be able to declare him the winner of the presidential elections.

Before the end of the count, the opposition called for the annulment of the elections, denouncing a “massive” fraud.

Bola Tinubu, 70, former governor of Lagos (southwest) and nicknamed ‘The Godfather’ for his immense political influence, will succeed the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, 80, who is leaving office after two terms, as required by the Constitution. Numerous accusations of corruption have marked his career, but he has never been convicted and has always denied them.

These elections are a crucial appointment. With its 216 million people, Nigeria is expected to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, as West Africa is threatened by a sharp decline in democracy and the spread of jihadist violence.

The continent’s largest economy has become a world cultural powerhouse, thanks above all to Afrobeats, a musical genre that is setting the world on fire with stars like Burna Boy and Wizkid.

But Bola Tinubu will inherit a host of problems. For four years, he will have the onerous task of righting the Anglophone giant, ravaged by a failing economy, recurring violence by armed groups and bandits, and widespread impoverishment of the population.

fraud accusations

Bola Tinubu was long considered the favorite in these elections, thanks largely to the ruling party’s national base and fortune, but his lead narrowed as the campaign progressed.

First of all, because the person of Peter Obi, a 61-year-old ex-governor praised for his integrity, has greatly seduced a youth hungry for change, tired of the aging and reputedly corrupt elite that governs it.

And secondly, because the serious shortage of tickets and gasoline several weeks before the elections aggravated the already anger of Nigerians against the Government, which has a disastrous balance sheet, with an explosion of insecurity and the cost of life.

​​​​​​More than 87 million voters were eligible to vote on Saturday and the elections, whose participation is still unknown, passed in general calmly, despite security incidents and logistical problems.

But after the delays in the recount and the serious failures in the electronic transfer of the results, the parties of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi denounced on Tuesday an electoral “farce” in favor of the APC, demanding its “immediate annulment” and the holding of a “new election”.

Their parties also questioned the independence of the Inec, which in turn described the accusations as “unfounded” and added that the candidates were “free to go to court” if they felt wronged.

This article was adapted from its original in French.