Governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate Bola Tinubu has been declared the winner of Nigeria's 2023 presidential election, the country's electoral commission confirmed early Wednesday.
Known as a longtime kingmaker in Nigerian politics, Tinubu clinched the presidency after gaining 36% of more than 24 million votes cast in the closely-followed election. Figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission also indicate Tinubu won 25% of the vote in more than two-thirds of the country's states.
Tinubu managed to best notable challengers Atiku Abubakar, who previously served as vice president, and former state governor Peter Obi. Compared to Tinubu, Abubakar won 29% of the vote whereas Obi garnered some 25%.
Under Nigerian laws, presidential candidates must win the highest number of votes in addition to gaining at least 25% of the across two-thirds of the African nation's 36 states.
For Tinubu, the win came against the backdrop of depleting support for the outgoing Buhari government, and also proved a somewhat unexpected victory for the country's ruling.
However, despite the election win for Tinubu, the results have already been contested by his fellow candidates. In fact, hours before the final results were tallied, representatives from both the People's Democratic Party and the Labor Party called for a recount, claiming the vote had been rigged.
"The election is irretrievably compromised and we have totally lost faith in the entire process," Julius Abure, chairman of the country's Labour Party, said at a news conference.
Earlier preliminary findings by international observers highlighted the election cycle was riddled with logistical problems as officials were slow to publish results of the presidential race. According to Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the problems were technical.
Observers with the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute previously stated that the election round "fell well short of Nigerian citizens’ legitimate and reasonable expectations."
In contrast, observers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), who are led by Ernest Bai Koroma, Sierra Leone's former president, called on all the candidates to accept the results.
"We urge the candidates in the presidential election to respect the outcome of the election [as announced by the electoral body]", Koroma told media.
In its turn, Tinubu's APC has called on the opposition to accept the results and the president-elect underlined the importance of reconcilation.
"I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together," he said. "It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together."
Parties that wish to challenge the results now have three weeks to file their respective appeals to the high court. The election can be overturned only if it is proven that actions of the national electoral body contradicted the law.
Legal challenges of elections are common in Nigeria; however, country's Supreme Court has never invalidated results of a presidential election.