Nigerian Election Vote Count Under Way. Who Is Likely to Win?

February 27, 2023, 1:58 PM UTC

Millions of Nigerians voted over the weekend for a new president to succeed Muhammadu Buhari, whose eight-year rule of  Africa’s most populous nation saw the economy fall into a fiscal crisis and insecurity becoming increasingly rife. The election was beset by delays, reports of violence in some areas and glitches with a new electronic results transmission system.

The three main candidates — Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party and outsider Peter Obi of the Labour Party — all expressed optimism about their performance. But the slow rollout of results means the race remains too close to call. We’ll add more states when the results are announced.

Counting is still under way, with only four states officially declared.  Provisional results reported by local media indicate that Obi is on track for a surprise upset win in Tinubu’s home turf of Lagos, the commercial center.