Nigeria’s INEC details voting irregularities, electoral violence

Nigeria’s INEC details voting irregularities, electoral violence

Nigeria’s electoral commission issued a troubling report Friday, describing challenges encountered during the February 23 election that saw President Muhammadu Buhari win a second term. The press release from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that some regions prevented from voting because of electoral violence, or sending in returns,…

Buhari wins Nigeria, PDP says it rejects results

Buhari wins Nigeria, PDP says it rejects results

Nigerian voters have re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari, according to final results released late Tuesday night by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Buhari has 15,191,847 votes – 56 percent of the total – while main opposition candidate Akitu Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has 11,262,978 votes. Buhari won…

Nigeria’s PDP, APC trade accusations as election results come in

Nigeria’s PDP, APC trade accusations as election results come in

As Nigeria awaits final results in Saturday’s elections, both leading parties are trading accusations on electoral interference and the legitimacy of the results. “Our democracy is under threat of derailment,” said the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), claiming that results issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria…

Tense Nigeria awaits election results

Nigerians who went to the polls in droves on Saturday now are waiting for the results of the postponed presidential contest between President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, the main opposition challenger among dozens of candidates in the race. They did so as the threat of electoral violence continued to rise….

Nigeria’s PDP blasts Buhari over election interference threat

President Muhammadu Buhari had harsh words for those who might derail the Nigerian presidential election rescheduled for Saturday, including leaders at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who gave just six hours’ notice at the weekend that the polls would remain closed. What really concerned observers and prompted outcry from…

Sierra Leone: Maada Bio inauguration marred by stampede

In Sierra Leone, at least one person has died and another 20 were injured during the inauguration ceremony for President Julius Maada Bio in Freetown on Saturday. “The death figure may rise because we are still taking injured people from the stadium,” a Red Cross official, Unisa Carew, told Agence…

Maada Bio wins Sierra Leone election

Julius Maada Bio, the opposition candidate of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), has won the country’s presidential election runoff with 51.8 percent of the votes, the National Election Commission (NEC) announced late Wednesday. Maada Bio received 1,319,406 votes, narrowly defeating All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Samura Kamara, who took 48.2 percent…

Sierra Leone set to move ahead with delayed runoff election

Officials in Sierra Leone will hold the runoff presidential election originally planned for today on Saturday, following a last-minute High Court ruling that allows the voting to proceed. While a decision was welcome news to the National Election Commission, it also meant a delay because of the logistics required, said…

Sierra Leone to see Kamara, Maada Bio runoff election

Sierra Leone will hold a runoff election between the top two presidential contenders on March 27, now that last week’s results are tallied and it’s clear that neither leading candidate picked up the necessary 55 percent of the vote. Mohamed Conteh, chairman of the National Election Commission, announced the results…

Opposition cries foul as Sierra Leone tallies votes

The vote count remains under way in Sierra Leone, where election officials report a relatively smooth process – but there’s no results so far, and at least some disputes over just how well the election went. “Because we value accuracy above speed, there may be times when the tally takes…