Nigeria began to unveil the very first presidential results on Sunday (February 26th) after a hotly contested poll in Africa’s most populous country, where delays in counting operations have sparked concerns and accusations of attempts to frauds. More than 87 million voters were called on Saturday to choose from 18 candidates the man who will have the heavy task for four years of restoring Nigeria, weighed down by a flagging economy, recurrent violence by armed groups and bandits, as well as a general impoverishment of the population.

The announcement of the results, state by state, began shortly before 7 p.m. local time, but will take time: after giving the figures for Ekiti, a small state in the south-west of the country, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the sequel to Monday morning. Nigeria has 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Earlier on Sunday, the opposition candidate (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, had called on the INEC to remain neutral and publish the results as soon as possible, accusing some governors of trying to compromise the electoral process. “It will be a disservice to Nigerians and a negation of democracy if anyone subverts the will of the people as freely expressed at the ballot box yesterday,” the former vice president said in a statement. is running for the presidency for the sixth time.

For its part, Labor Party underdog Peter Obi on Saturday night accused INEC of “refusing to report results” in Lagos State – which has the highest number of registered voters in the country ( 7 million) – and that of the Delta (southeast), citing “pressure” from the ruling party (APC).

” Technical issues “

MM. Obi and Abubakar are among the trio of favorites competing with 70-year-old Bola Tinubu, representing President Muhammadu Buhari’s much-criticized APC, who is constitutionally stepping down after serving two terms. Considered one of the most influential men in the country, this former governor of Lagos, warned: this time, “it’s my turn!” “.

In a statement, INEC acknowledged “technical problems” with the use, for the first time in a national election, of new technologies to collect and centralize results from some 176,000 polling stations. However, she assured that “these results are safe (…) and cannot be falsified”.

The vote was generally calm, despite some security incidents and logistical hiccups, which caused delays, stoking fears of vote manipulation, while previous polls had been marred by accusations of fraud.

“Let Nigeria decide,” Nigerian music star Burna Boy wrote on Twitter, challenging the electoral commission. This Grammy winner gave them a warning: “Don’t try to make magic with the results!” »

The night before, in several offices across the country, crowds of voters were filming the counts live at night with their smartphones, counting the ballots aloud with the electoral agents in a festive atmosphere.

Towards a second round?

An unprecedented situation since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria could experience a two-round presidential election if Peter Obi, who has succeeded in establishing himself as a serious challenger against the two parties traditionally dominating Nigerian politics, transforms the test into the urns.

The former governor of Anambra (southeast), a 61-year-old Christian supported by the small Labor Party (LP), is very popular with young people.

His two main adversaries, experienced in the exercise of power, benefit from a vast national base. Of Muslim faith, both intend to win many votes in the north, with a Muslim majority, in a country where the ethnic and religious vote remains decisive.

But, to be elected in the first round, the winner must obtain, in addition to the majority of the votes cast, at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation plus the territory of Abuja. Otherwise, a second round must take place within twenty-one days.

Change

This election is also crucial for the continent: Nigeria, which has 216 million inhabitants, should become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, while West Africa is threatened by a strong democratic decline and the spread of jihadist violence.

Africa’s largest economy has become a global cultural power, thanks in particular to Afrobeat, a musical genre that sets the planet’s dancefloors on fire with stars such as Burna Boy.

But, in the face of immense daily hardship, compounded by recent shortages, many Nigerians are calling for change, sickened by decades of poor governance and an aging, notoriously corrupt elite.