EXPLAINER
Voters and observer missions have highlighted failures of the electoral fee and violence at polling items as election outcomes are awaited.
On February 25, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians went to the polls throughout its 36 states and the federal capital, Abuja, to elect a brand new president and lawmakers to the 2 homes of the Nationwide Meeting.
Three days later, the outcomes are but to be introduced and there’s no indication of when that can be.
Certainly, Al Jazeera verified that as of 10:54 am (09:54 GMT), solely 46 p.c or 81,569 end result sheets of the 176,846 polling items nationwide, had been uploaded to the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee’s (INEC) portal. In Abuja, INEC introduced outcomes from solely 14 states.
There have additionally been quite a few allegations of voter suppression and intimidation, in addition to outright rigging in elements of the nation.
Right here is extra concerning the election and issues as they presently stand in Nigeria.
What places of work are up for the vote?
Elections have been held for the 109 senatorial districts and 360 constituencies in Nigeria’s bicameral federal legislature on February 25, the identical day because the presidential election.
On March 11, 28 of the 36 states will maintain the governorship and state parliament elections.
Who’s working for the presidency?
Eighteen candidates ran within the election however the prime 4 contenders are:
- Bola Tinubua two-term former governor of Lagos and a serious stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
- The Folks’s Democratic Get together’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakara former vp, gunning for the place for a file sixth time.
- The Labor Get together’s (LP) Peter Obia two-time former governor of Anambra.
- Rabiu Kwankwasoex-defense minister and former governor of the northern hub Kano, is on the New Nigerian Folks’s Get together (NNPP) ticket.
How do the elections work?
- To win the presidencya candidate should get probably the most votes and win at the least 25 p.c of votes forged in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states.
- If no candidate meets these standards, a run-off can be held inside 21 days, with the highest two candidates collaborating.
- INEC used the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to accredit voters utilizing biometrics, and uploaded outcomes after bodily poll papers had been used to forged votes.
Who’s main the election?
- On the INEC collation heart in Abuja, outcomes have been referred to as from solely 19 states.
- Tinubu and Abubakar are every main in 7 states. Obi, main in 4 states, and Kwankwaso, main in 1 state are in third and fourth locations respectively.
- Given the present outcomes, it’s nonetheless exhausting to inform whether or not a run-off might occur.
- However many citizens, journalists and civil society consultants nationwide have expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the elections, alleging widespread voter intimidation, suppression and disenfranchisement.
What has gone fallacious?
- Voting needed to be prolonged into Sunday in a couple of elements of the nation after some glitches.
- In some circumstances, INEC officers didn’t present up or confirmed up with out ample information of the BVAS.
- On the Awada Main Faculty in Onitsha on Saturday, Al Jazeera watched as greater than 1,000 individuals who had been ready for hours – some since 7am – complained about officers arriving a bit after midday. Voting started slowly after a Catholic priest who was additionally there to vote intervened and aided the officers.
- INEC has additionally been sluggish to add end result sheets from the polling items to the server. This has led to considerations concerning the transparency of the elections.
- In an announcement on Monday, the European Union observer mission stated INEC “lacked environment friendly planning and transparency throughout important levels of the electoral course of”.
- On election day, the assertion added, belief within the electoral fee was additional lowered due to “delayed polling processes and data gaps associated to a lot anticipated entry to outcomes on its Outcomes Viewing Portal (IReV)”.
- There have been additionally importing errors with the sheets. In some circumstances, Al Jazeera seen that there was a mismatch; for example, at one polling unit in Ajah, Lagos, the uploaded sheet was for one more in Lafia in Nasarawa, greater than 925km (574 miles) away.
Violence
There’s a long-running sample of violence in Nigeria’s elections, despite the fact that the frequency and depth of the occasions have all the time diverse.
- Since Saturday, a lot of younger individuals posted footage on social media exhibiting the disruption of the electoral course of by teams of attackers believed to be political supporters.
- Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher of the Human Rights Watch wrote in a word on monday that there have been reported incidents of violence in Rivers, Kogi, Edo, and Imo. “Elections shouldn’t be a dangerous affair the place residents like [Bina] Efidi put their lives in danger to vote and have a say of their nation’s future,” she wrote, referencing the case of a younger voter in Lagos who suffered deep cuts round her eye after unknown assailants struck her with a pointy object. The incident occurred in Surulere, Lagos.
- In one other Surulere polling unit, Emmanuel Akinwotu and Aanu Adeoye, West Africa correspondents of the Monetary Occasions and NPR have been current when masked gunmen interrupted the voting and made away with the poll field, capturing as they entered and exited.
with @tomsaater and edited by @TARANEILL , I did not notice I used to be nonetheless recording after they began capturing, TW, gunshots are heard within the report #NigeriaDecides https://t.co/R3w9Xxhobi
— Emmanuel Akinwotu (@ea_akin) February 26, 2023
