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| Nigerian election: Buhari poised for victory as governing party cries foul | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nigeria’s opposition candidate appears to be close to victory in an election followed closely in Africa and around the world. | |
| With 32 of Nigeria’s 36 states, plus the capital, declaring results, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari was leading the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, by 2.9m votes, according to official results. | |
| A spokesman for Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed victory for the 72-year-old. | |
| Buhari has campaigned as a born-again democrat intent on cleaning up the corrupt politics of the continent’s biggest economy and most populous nation. | |
| Tensions have mounted as voting and the collation of results each had to be extended by a day. If Buhari’s victory is confirmed, Jonathan faces the prospect of being Nigeria’s first incumbent president to lose an election. | |
| The former military ruler won the key prize of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, but at one point his lead was cut to 500,000 votes after landslide victories for Jonathan in his southern Delta homeland. | |
| The second day of vote-counting got off to a dramatic start when a member of Jonathan’s party accused the electoral chief of bias. | The second day of vote-counting got off to a dramatic start when a member of Jonathan’s party accused the electoral chief of bias. |
| Godsday Orubebe, a former minister and a member of the ruling People’s Democratic party (PDP) seized the microphone at the count on Tuesday morning and launched into an attack on the electoral chief. | Godsday Orubebe, a former minister and a member of the ruling People’s Democratic party (PDP) seized the microphone at the count on Tuesday morning and launched into an attack on the electoral chief. |
| “Mr chairman, we have lost confidence in you and what you’re doing. You’re not impartial, you’re compromised,” he said as Attahiru Jega, the electoral chief, apologised for the delay in announcing results. | “Mr chairman, we have lost confidence in you and what you’re doing. You’re not impartial, you’re compromised,” he said as Attahiru Jega, the electoral chief, apologised for the delay in announcing results. |
| Related: Nigeria faces an acid test, whatever the result of this election | Max Siollun | Related: Nigeria faces an acid test, whatever the result of this election | Max Siollun |
| Orubebe later walked to the podium where an impassive Jega looked on and continued screaming for 10 minutes, waving a sheet of results as a crowd gathered around him. He also accused him of prioritising the announcement of northern states, which are Buhari strongholds. | Orubebe later walked to the podium where an impassive Jega looked on and continued screaming for 10 minutes, waving a sheet of results as a crowd gathered around him. He also accused him of prioritising the announcement of northern states, which are Buhari strongholds. |
| Orubebe was a former minister of Rivers state, a key battleground in the volatile Niger delta, which produces much of the country’s oil. Official results have not been announced but the state returned a 95% victory for Jonathan, prompting the opposition to call for a recount. | Orubebe was a former minister of Rivers state, a key battleground in the volatile Niger delta, which produces much of the country’s oil. Official results have not been announced but the state returned a 95% victory for Jonathan, prompting the opposition to call for a recount. |
| “Let us not disrupt a process which has ended peacefully and which we will conclude in a few hours,” Jega said. | “Let us not disrupt a process which has ended peacefully and which we will conclude in a few hours,” Jega said. |
| Voter turnout was consistently higher in Buhari’s strongholds than in Jonathan’s and he won by bigger margins than he achieved at the last election in 2011. | Voter turnout was consistently higher in Buhari’s strongholds than in Jonathan’s and he won by bigger margins than he achieved at the last election in 2011. |
| In Kano, the state containing Nigeria’s second biggest city, Buhari defeated Jonathan by nearly 1.7 million votes, compared with about 1m last time around. In Kaduna, where the two were virtually tied in 2011, Buhari won by 650,000 votes. | In Kano, the state containing Nigeria’s second biggest city, Buhari defeated Jonathan by nearly 1.7 million votes, compared with about 1m last time around. In Kaduna, where the two were virtually tied in 2011, Buhari won by 650,000 votes. |
| The winning presidential candidate needs not only the most votes, but at least 25% support in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja to avoid a runoff. | The winning presidential candidate needs not only the most votes, but at least 25% support in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and Abuja to avoid a runoff. |
| On Monday, the US and Britain warned against any interference with the count. “So far, we have seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process,” the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, said in a joint statement. “But there are disturbing indications that the collation process – where the votes are finally counted – may be subject to deliberate political interference.” | On Monday, the US and Britain warned against any interference with the count. “So far, we have seen no evidence of systemic manipulation of the process,” the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, said in a joint statement. “But there are disturbing indications that the collation process – where the votes are finally counted – may be subject to deliberate political interference.” |
| Results from the rest of the country were expected from 10am local time on Tuesday but were running late. The logistics of transporting results from around the country to the national nerve centre Abuja have slowed the process. Prof Akin Oyebode, an academic, noted that Nigeria lacks high-speed trains while flights are often delayed. “We have to remember we are a third-world country, not a first-world country,” he said. | Results from the rest of the country were expected from 10am local time on Tuesday but were running late. The logistics of transporting results from around the country to the national nerve centre Abuja have slowed the process. Prof Akin Oyebode, an academic, noted that Nigeria lacks high-speed trains while flights are often delayed. “We have to remember we are a third-world country, not a first-world country,” he said. |
| Buhari, who ruled a military government in the mid-1980s, is making his fourth run at the presidency since 1999. His chances have been boosted by frustration over endemic corruption, criticism over Jonathan’s handling of Boko Haram’s six-year Islamist uprising and a well-organised opposition. | Buhari, who ruled a military government in the mid-1980s, is making his fourth run at the presidency since 1999. His chances have been boosted by frustration over endemic corruption, criticism over Jonathan’s handling of Boko Haram’s six-year Islamist uprising and a well-organised opposition. |
| International observers gave broadly positive reactions to the conduct of the vote, despite late delivery of election materials and technical glitches with new voter ID card readers in some areas. Nigeria’s Transition Monitoring Group, which had observers across the country, said: “These issues did not systematically disadvantage any candidate or party.” | International observers gave broadly positive reactions to the conduct of the vote, despite late delivery of election materials and technical glitches with new voter ID card readers in some areas. Nigeria’s Transition Monitoring Group, which had observers across the country, said: “These issues did not systematically disadvantage any candidate or party.” |
| But fears persist that the election, thought to be the most expensive in African history, will be polarising and that the losing side will not accept the outcome. After Buhari lost to Jonathan in 2011, 800 people died and 65,000 were forced from their homes by riots in the north. | But fears persist that the election, thought to be the most expensive in African history, will be polarising and that the losing side will not accept the outcome. After Buhari lost to Jonathan in 2011, 800 people died and 65,000 were forced from their homes by riots in the north. |