Incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election on Monday, April 18 the election commission said.
According to Chairman Attahiru Jega, Jonathan satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes and hereby was declared the winner.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 22,495, 187 of the 39, 469, 484 votes cast on April 16. The number outweighed the votes of Muhammad Buhari, of the Congress for Progressive Change, the main opposition party, which had 12, 214,853.
“The election was free and fair but there were pockets of protest from the northern part of the country where Buhari hails from,” said Lawrence Azibuike.
Rioting in the Muslim populated area of Nigeria soon erupted once Jonathan was declared the winner. Concerned about ongoing violence Nigerian election officials Thursday delayed the gubernatorial elections in Kaduna and Bauchi states until April 28.
Jega said that the delay will help to further the cooling of tempers and for the security in those states to improve.
Goodluck Jonathan hails from the oil-rich southern region of Nigeria, which is mostly Christian.
Parts of the Muslim north charge that the elections were rigged. Armed protestors roamed the streets chanting the name of Buhari, the opposition leader.
According to the Nigerian Red Cross, more than 40,000 people have been displaced in the north due to acts of violence in the region. Jonathan has urged the people that “enough is enough.”
The elections four years ago were widely condemned for rampant vote rigging, violence intimidation, and theft of ballot boxes.
Action Congress of Nigeria, another opposition party, said Thursday that the elections were the most systematically rigged election in Nigeria’s history.
Jonathan assumed the presidency prior to the elections after Umaru Yar’Adua succumbed to failing health last year.
World leaders have urged the nation to investigate on allegations of ballot stuffing and unusual high turnout in some areas.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil-producer and most populous nation with over 150 million people.
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