Breakdown of 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election

March 1, 2023

Breakdown of the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election

Bola Tinubu, a candidate for the ruling party, was declared the winner of last week’s presidential election by Nigeria’s electoral commission on Wednesday.

Major opposition parties have raised concerns about irregularities and condemned the outcome as being dishonest. While not being on the same magnitude as recent elections, there have been accusations of violence and intimidation.

Below are the results of the voting and election process information.

Main Candidates

Eighteen candidates were running for president but only three were seen as having a realistic chance. They were Tinubu from the governing All Progressives Congress party (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party (LP).

A fourth contender, Rabiu Kwankwaso, of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), received votes in parts of the north.

Updates

Who Won?

According to final Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) tallies from all 36 states and the federal capital Abuja, Tinubu garnered about 36.6% or 8.79 million of valid votes counted from the weekend election, while Atiku trailed behind with 29.1% or 6.98 million of valid votes.

How Were The Votes Tallied?

Results from 176,846 polling stations were counted manually and were then to be relayed electronically to the INEC headquarters in Abuja, for posting on its website.

The results were also tallied at the ward, local government and state level. A returning officer from each state was to travel to Abuja with a tally sheet, to be compared against results sent directly by polling stations to the national collation centre.

How Does A Candidate Win?

To win the presidential election, a candidate needed a simple majority, and have at least a quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and Abuja, which Tinubu did.