Legal battle looms after Nigerian election result

ABUJA: Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said his re-election was “free and fair”, after his beaten rival denounced the results as a “sham” and promised a legal challenge that could dominate politics for weeks.

The 76-year-old one-time military ruler’s victory was confirmed late on Tuesday, after rescheduled polling blamed on logistical difficulties.

Buhari’s winning margin over his nearest challenger, Atiku Abubakar, was 3.9 million votes — more than enough to ensure he remained head of Africa’s most populous nation and leading oil producer for the next four years. Leading civil society election monitors YIAGA Africa, which has US and British backing, said “the announced election results reflect the votes cast”, even if there were problems.

But Abubakar’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cried foul, claiming Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) colluded with the electoral commission to manipulate the outcome.

The former vice-president broke his silence nearly 10 hours after results were announced to explain he would have congratulated Buhari, had the vote been “free and fair”.

Instead, he said: “I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.” Buhari called Saturday’s vote “another milestone in Nigeria’s democratic development”, 20 years after the country returned to civilian rule.