Nigerian election: opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari sweeps to victory

By The Guardian

The Nigerian opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari, has swept to victory in the country’s presidential election, a political earthquake that inflicted the first defeat on an incumbent in the history of Africa’s biggest democracy.

By Tuesday night Buhari had polled nearly 15m votes, well clear of the sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan, on 12.8m, with only one of the country’s 36 states left to declare. As Buhari’s supporters took to the streets to celebrate, Jonathan was reported to have called the challenger to concede defeat.

The stunning result, which followed a uniquely competitive, expensive and at times vicious campaign, was hailed by analysts as a milestone for multiparty democracy on the continent.

But there was still uncertainty over whether elements in Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic party (PDP) would relinquish power after 16 years or resist in the courts and on the streets. One former state minister briefly disrupted the results on Tuesday, seized the microphone and shouting angry claims of bias. The PDP has alleged widespread irregularities at the polls, including the use of underage voters by the opposition. Post-election violence in 2011 left 800 people dead.

Buhari, a 72-year-old Muslim, first tasted power a generation ago as a military dictator, only to be ousted after 20 months and jailed. The former army general has campaigned as a born-again democrat intent on cleaning up the corrupt politics of the continent’s largest economy and most populous nation.

On Tuesday he watched the results from his home in Abuja, barely talking as governors and others around him were in increasingly high spirits.

His All Progressives Congress (APC) party carried Nigeria’s two biggest cities, Lagos and Kano, and chalked up heavy victories in its northern strongholds. Jonathan fared better in his southern home territory, including the oil-rich Niger delta, but was far less effective than Buhari in persuading his support base to turn out.

Overall, Buhari won 20 states, while Jonathan took 15 along with the territory of the capital city, Abuja. For the tenacious opposition candidate, victory was all the sweeter after three previous election losses, including at the hands of Jonathan in 2011.

The president called him to concede defeat, according to the APC. Lai Mohammed, a spokesman for the opposition party, said: “He telephoned Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on with his victory. He will be a hero to concede because the tension will go down dramatically.”

John Oloyede, a legal expert and pundit on Nigeria’s Channels television, said: “He is the first Nigerian ruler, head of state, to congratulate somebody who is going to take over from him. This is the kind of change that Nigeria has been yearning for. On this kind of change, this conduct, Nigeria will be able to build and move to a higher level.

“I feel elated as a Nigerian. We are making good on our words, the president has made good on his word, and by the grace of God we will have peace.”