In Nigeria, the first results after governorship elections under tension

First results were announced on Sunday evening March 19 in Nigeria after local elections marked by violence, irregularities and low participation. In Lagos, outgoing governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of the presidential party The Congress of Progressives (APC), was in the lead, according to partial results from the electoral commission. An opponent has already mentioned fraud.

Africa’s most populous country with more than 210 million people on Saturday elected more than 900 representatives of state assemblies, as well as the governors of 28 of the 36 states. Governors are very powerful in Nigeria. Some of them have larger budgets for their state than those of several African countries.

This election took place three weeks after the presidential election won by the candidate of the ruling party, Bola Tinubu, and deemed fraudulent by the main opposition parties. The Labor Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claim that technical failures allowed votes to be manipulated in favor of the APC candidate, which the electoral commission denies.

Disappointment

The LP candidate, Peter Obi, caused a sensation when he won the presidential election on February 25 in Lagos, previously considered the stronghold of the new president. But, at the national level, Mr. Obi finished third, behind Mr. Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. MM. Obi and Abubakar are challenging these results in court. The issue on Saturday was whether Mr. Obi’s rising popularity, especially among young people, would be felt in these local elections.

As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the results on Sunday, putting Mr. Sanwo-Olu in the lead in Lagos, the candidate of the Labor Party in this state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, cried fraud on social networks . “I am convinced beyond any possible doubt that the results announced by INEC do not represent the wish of the majority of peaceful Lagotians,” he posted on Twitter.

So far, the APC has won the governorship elections in Ogun, Kwara, Jigawa, Gombe and Yobe states, while the PDP has won in Oyo and Akwa Ibom. Results were still awaited for the States of Rivers (south) and Kano (north). Adamawa (northeast) could see the election of Nigeria’s first female governor.

Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is due to step down in May after serving two terms. Many Nigerians who had hoped for a change in national politics were disappointed with the conduct of the presidential election in February, a sentiment that may have impacted turnout in Saturday’s polls.

“Whipped”

Voters and opposition parties claim that technical incidents allowed the manipulation of results on Saturday, which the electoral commission denies. Observer on the ballot, the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) noted in some areas of the country “a tendency to discouragement” following the presidential election, suggesting that “it is not worth it” to go vote.

Despite signs of low turnout, observers at the Yiaga Africa Civic Center noted “significant improvement in handling election logistics” on Saturday. Polling stations opened on time for the most part and biometric registration machines and the online portal showing results appeared to be working relatively well, according to the two organizations.

However, violence was reported on Saturday in several states where thugs tried to intimidate voters, sometimes destroying electoral materials, according to local media and election observers. In the state of Imo (southeast), where armed separatists are active, electoral officials were briefly taken hostage and electoral material stolen.

In Lagos, according to the CDD, voters were “whipped”. According to Amnesty International, “many suffered serious injuries…this is unacceptable and must be investigated.” Several elections scheduled for Saturday had to be postponed to Sunday. In addition, according to Yiaga Africa, votes were bought on Saturday for 1,000 naira (about 2 euros) or alcohol, spaghetti, fabric. Some 65 people have been arrested for this type of incitement to vote, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.