The opposition parties in Nigeria are calling for fresh elections terming the results currently being announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission as “heavily doctored and manipulated.”
Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu is so far leading the race with nearly half of the vote already tallied Tuesday, according to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results, a CNN report said.
A joint statement issued by the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, and African Democratic Congress in Abuja on Tuesday said they have lost confidence in the electoral body Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, CNN reported.
The parties called for fresh polls to be held under a new chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the report said.
“We call on the international community to note that the results being declared at the National Collation centre have been heavily doctored and manipulated and do not reflect the wishes of Nigerians expressed at the polls on February 25, 2023,” they said.
According to BBC, European Union observers said the electoral body's poor planning and communication undermined trust in the process.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and PDP have dominated Nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999.
The Labour Party candidate Peter Obi ran for president for the first time, promising to challenge the two-party system.
He has the support of many young people, who make up a third of registered voters. There are 15 other candidates.
Obi has also won in Abuja. On Monday, he was declared the winner of the biggest city, Lagos, which was seen as a stronghold of Tinubu, the BBC report added.
A candidate needs to have the most votes nationwide and at least a quarter of ballots cast in 25 of the 36 states plus Abuja to be declared the winner.
If those thresholds are not reached then there will be a second round run-off between the top two candidates, the report said.