Buhari wins the elections in Nigeria with an absolute majority Tags Now on the cover Related News Most read Featured Services

After the tension maintained during the vote count on Monday and Tuesday, the next president who will govern Nigeria is already known. With the scrutiny of the votes in all the states of the country except Borno, a northern state that will give former general Muhammadu Buhari even more advantage, he obtains the absolute majority with 53.23% (14,951,140 votes) against 45.67% (12,827,522 votes) of the until now -and since 2010- president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan. This political change will also transfer power to a new political party since the PDP had been in government since 1999.

On Monday, the scrutiny of 18 states of the 36 that make up Nigeria, as well as that of the capital, was announced. These first electoral results showed a fight between the two main parties that have played the presidency for the next four years of the first African economic power, the first oil exporter and the most populous country on this continent. The opposition Buhari, at the head of the All Progressive Congress (APC) party, obtained 56.16% of the vote, while President Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) obtained 42.72%. This Tuesday, the results of the votes in the remaining 18 states have been announced by drops and have declared the opposition party the winner.

Muhammadu Buhari, from the northern state of Katsina, was already president of Nigeria between December 1983 and August 1985 after gaining power through a coup. He ran as a presidential candidate in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections, remaining on all three occasions as the second political force with 32.19%, 18.66% and 31.98% respectively. This opposition candidate has obtained the possibility of winning these 2015 elections due to the creation in 2013 of the Congress of All Progressives (APC), a coalition that has brought together the strength of four opposition parties.

At first, it was considered that the security problem with Boko Haram in the northeast of the country could harm the results of the elections, penalizing the APC candidate, who has the majority of his supporters in the north. However, it has been thanks to the north that Buhari has obtained the absolute majority to govern the African giant for four years.

However, the opposition party has obtained the support of states that did not give it to it in the last elections of 2011. By keeping its supporters in the north and in the state of Osun, in the south, -ruled until now by Congress Nigeria (ACN), one of the parties that make up the APC coalition, Buhari's party has won the majority of votes in six southern states (Lagos, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Kogi) that before they belonged to the PDP.

Buhari was known during the time he ruled Nigeria, between 1983 and 1985, for his austerity measures that could now help solve the country's economic problem, affected by the fall in oil prices worldwide, a product that represents 14 % of your GDP. In addition, he is considered competent to solve security problems. Other challenges that the new president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will have to face are crime and conflicts in the Niger Delta; unemployment, which reaches the worst figures in the north of the historically forgotten country, and poverty. In Nigeria, despite being the first economy in Africa, surpassing South Africa, more than 60% of the population lives in poverty. Likewise, more than 10 million boys and girls do not have access to school and the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest on the planet.

Goodluck Jonathan, grounded

For his part, Goodluck Jonathan has maintained the loyalty of many southern states, and with more than 90% of the votes in his favor (also in 2011) in eight of them (Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River , Rivers and Delta). However, in others (such as Lagos, Edo or Taraba) he has been punished. Among the weaknesses of the Nigerian president since 2010, after replacing his predecessor due to his health condition, and winning the elections in 2011, were the accusations against the executive of not having done enough against Boko Haram or the corruption of Nigerian institutions . The north accuses the Jonathan government of not investing in education, health and infrastructure in this area of ​​the country.

Although at first Jonathan recognized his defeat, early this Wednesday the party of the hitherto president announced that he will appeal the results of the elections. Shortly before, the Popular Democratic Party had refused to sign the minutes of the official results.

Apart from this process, possible outbreaks of violence are the focus of concern for the country's security forces. The goal is to repeat the scenes after the 2011 elections, when the clashes led to the death of some 800 people.

In the event that Goodluck Jonathan won, violence was expected between supporters of one candidate and another in the northern states. In the scenario of Muhammadu Buhari knowing himself victorious, he was concerned about the outbreak of violence in the oil state of the Delta, where the lack of security has also become a challenge. As could be seen on Saturday's election day, the Electoral Commission had to suspend voting in the community of Udu (Delta state), as explained by the local newspaper 'The Punch', because security could not be guaranteed in this area.