Nigeria president Buhari leads vote, opposition cries foul

Bloomberg

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari held the edge in early election results that the main opposition party claimed were being manipulated following a vote marred by delays and at least 39 deaths.
After results from 11 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Buhari led his main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, by a 51 percent to 46 percent margin, according to data announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the capital, Abuja. The final vote tally is expected Tuesday or Wednesday.
With his strong support in the northwest, the region with the greatest number of registered voters, Buhari’s prospects of winning re-election are bright, said Max Siollun, a Nigerian historian based in New York.
“The results so far will give Buhari and his supporters great confidence — it will take a tectonic shift in result patterns for Atiku to win,” he said in an emailed response to questions. “If the north-western results as expected show heavy voting there for Buhari, then a Buhari victory will be a near certainty.”
The presidential and parliamentary election in Africa’s top oil producer was the continent’s biggest-ever democratic exercise. Almost 73 million people were eligible to vote in what analysts thought would be a tight race between Buhari, an ex-general who campaigned on an anti-graft platform, and Abubakar, a 72-year-old businessman and former vice president.
The chairman of Abu-bakar’s People’s Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, accused the government of using “inducements and incarcerations” and enlisting the police and national army “to silence the voices of our long suffering people.”