Nigerian general election, 2015
2011 ←
28 March 2015[1]
→ 2019
68,833,476 registered voters[2]
25% in each of 2/3 States + Majority[3] votes
needed to win
Opinion polls
Nominee
Goodluck Jonathan
Muhammadu Buhari
Party
PDP
APC
Running mate
Namadi Sambo
Yemi Osinbajo
Incumbent President
Goodluck Jonathan
PDP
The Nigerian general election of 2015 will be the
5th quadrennial election to be held since the end of
military rule in 1999.[4] Voters will elect the President
and Members to the House of Representatives and
the Senate. The incumbent president, Goodluck
Jonathan will be seeking a second and final term.
The elections were first scheduled to be held on 14
February 2015. The electoral commission postponed
it by six weeks to 28 March 2015 due to the on going
Boko Haram insurgency in the north-eastern part of
the country.[1]
Presidential election
Article 134 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution stipulates
that the a presidential candidate will be duly elected
after attaining both the highest number of votes cast;
and has received at least a quarter of the votes at
each of at least two-thirds of all the states and the
Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. If no candidate
satisfies the requirement, a second election will be
held between the two leading candidates within
seven days from the pronouncement of the result.[5]
Party primaries
People's Democratic Party (PDP)
It had long been assumed that incumbent President
Goodluck Jonathan would run for re-election, as
despite declining approval ratings, he was still
thought to be popular and had several high-profile
supporters.[6] Jonathan officially confirmed his
candidacy on 11 November at a rally in Abuja,
announcing to cheering supporters:[7]
“
"After seeking the face of God, and in the quiet of
my family, and after listening to the clarion call of
Nigerians, I have accepted to present myself to
serve a second term."
”
Jonathan ran unopposed in the People's Democratic
Party (PDP) primaries on 10 December 2014,
receiving the nomination of the party. However, this
was against an unwritten rule that the PDP's
presidential candidacy should alternate between
Muslim northerners and Christian southerners, and
opposition to Jonathan's candidacy had led to the
defection of "dozens" of PDP MPs in the House of
Representatives.[8]
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Prior to the elections[when?], the All Progressives
Congress was formed as an alliance of four
opposition parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria,
the Congress for Progressive Change, the All Nigeria
Peoples Party, and the All Progressives Grand
Alliance.[citation needed]
Its primaries, also held on 10 December, were won
by former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari,[8]
who defeated Kano State Governor Rabiu
Kwankwaso, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha and
newspaper editor Sam Nda Isaiah.[9] On December
17, APC chose Professor Yemi Osinbajo as the
running mate of General M. Buhari.[citation needed]
As of February 2015, "Though the APC's voter base is
in the north, it enjoys support all over the country,
unlike the opposition in 2011."[10]
Candidate
Votes
%
Muhammadu Buhari
3,430
57.2
Rabiu Kwankwaso
974
16.3
Atiku Abubakar
954
15.9
Rochas Okorocha
400
10.4
Sam Nda Isaiah
10
0.2
Total
5,992
100
Source: Nigerian Eye
Candidates
Fourteen candidates will contest in the election.[11]
The main opposition Goodluck Jonathan faces is
from Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. While
inaugurating a 250-bed Orthopaedic Hospital in
Wamakko, Buhari said: “We will stop corruption and
make the ordinary people, the weak and the
vulnerable our top priority.”[12]
General Muhammadu Buhari holding a broom at a
campaign rally.
Nominee
Running mate
Party
Acronym
Allagoa Chinedu
Arabamhen Mary
Peoples Party of Nigeria
PPN
Ambrose Owuru
Haruna Shaba
Hope Party
HOPE
Ayeni Adebayo
Anthony Ologbosere
African Peoples Alliance
APA
Chekwas Okorie
Bello Umar
United Progressive Party
UPP
Comfort Sonaiya
Seidu Bobboi
KOWA Party
KOWA
Ganiyu Galadima
Ojengbede Farida
Allied Congress Party of Nigeria
ACPN
Godson Okoye
Haruna Adamu
United Democratic Party
UDP
Goodluck Jonathan
Namadi Sambo
People's Democratic Party
PDP
Mani Ahmad
Obianuju Murphy-Uzohue
African Democratic Congress
ADC
Martin Onovo
Ibrahim Mohammed
National Conscience Party
NCP
Muhammadu Buhari
Yemi Osinbajo
All Progressives Congress
APC
Rufus Salawu
Akuchie Cliff
Alliance for Democracy
AD
Sam Eke
Hassana Hassan
Citizens Popular Party
CPP
Tunde Anifowose-Kelani
Ishaka Ofemile
Accord Alliance
AA
National Assembly
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has dominated
Nigerian politics since democracy was established in
1999. While opposition parties have failed to present
any serious opposition in the past, the All
Progressives Congress is now being viewed as a
serious challenge to the PDP in national elections.[6]
Conduct
After a botched governor's election in Anambra State,
there are serious concerns that the election will not
go smoothly. The country's election commission has
promised a better election process, and fair elections
may help prevent the violence that has plagued
previous Nigerian elections.[6] Ahead of the poll,
Gallup notes that only 13% of Nigerians have
confidence in the honesty of elections.[13]
The Socialist Party of Nigeria filed for registration as
a political party in order to contest the election, but
the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) refused the registration. The SPN sued the
INEC at the Federal High Court, claiming that INEC
had failed to respond to their petition within 30 days
as prescribed by law and that thus it would have to
be registered automatically.[14]
Unsurprisingly, the presidential election is a trending
topic on Twitter in Nigeria. We look at social media
platforms as one data point representing public
opinion. Note that it is likely that PDP/GEJ simply has
better social media support and that social media
support is not representative of the population as a
whole. According to Impact Social, based on data
from 40,000 tweets, Facebook messages, blogs, and
other internet outlets that mention PDP or GEJ, 70%
of public opinion toward President Jonathan is
positive, but messaging on the economy has taken up
6% of election conversation and is seen as a key PDP
strength. Social media support for Buhari/APC is a bit
“noisier” without a single issue leveraged by the
campaign to gain traction: there is general frustration
that the campaign lacks consistency, content and
focus on the important issues at hand.[15]
In January 2015, the "#Bringbackourgirls group has
raised the alarm over plans by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to exclude
Chibok and some communities currently under the
control of the Boko Haram from getting the
permanent voter cards (PVCs) for the February
elections."[16] Jonathan's already controversial
handling of the situation was exacerbated by the
twitter campaign that was launched in mid 2014, #
BringBackJonathan2015. It was widely considered to
be insensitive to the victims and their families.
Jonathan eventually called for banners containing the
hashtag to be taken down and asked for the hashtag
to not be used.[17]
Postponement
On February 8, 2015, the Independent National
Electoral Commission announced that "presidential
and national assembly elections will now hold on
March 28 while the governorship and state
assemblies election will take place on April 11,[18]"
due to security concerns related to the Boko Haram
insurgency.
The postponement gives GEJ/PDP six extra weeks to
rally support and undermine Muhammadu Buhari/
APC. However, the postponement will also intensify
the already bitter tension between not only the two
political parties but also between the north (largely
Muslim and pro-Buhari) and the south (largely
Christian and pro-Jonathan), potentially leading to
more violence. The postponement also raises
questions about the military’s political neutrality. [19]
The postponement was called on the grounds of the
INEC failing to deliver Permanent Voters’ Cards to
millions (around 34%) of voters - reportedly only
around 45.1mn of 68.8mn registered voters had
received PVC’s. Additionally, on February 5, the
National Council of State (chaired by President
Jonathan) told INEC that it had just launched a major,
decisive offensive against Boko Haram for six weeks.
Due to the assets and resources that would go into
this offensive, the military would be unable to
provide security and logistics support for elections.
This is a disputable claim, since election security is
the primary responsibility of not the military (which
should only act as support) but the police and civil
defence corps. There is speculation over whether or
not the postponement was motivated by politics
rather than security and has raised questions over
the political neutrality of the military as well as the
independence of INEC. [20]
[21] Sambo Dasuki, Nigerian national security
advisor, told the commission "that operations against
Boko Haram militants meant the military "will be
unable to provide adequate security" for the
February 14 vote."[22] "Seventeen out of the 28
registered political parties" supported postponing
the elections; 12 opposed, "including the leading
opposition party, All Progressives Congress".[23] As
of 30 January, "Boko Haram was in total occupation/
complete control of 13 local governments (and other
swathes of land) in Borno and 2 each in Yobe and
Adamawa."[24] Critics of the postponement view it as
a political move on behalf of GEJ/PDP rather than one
made in the interest of national security. GEJ/PDP are
losing traction due to gains by Boko Haram in
January, economic strains from the slide in global oil
price (Nigeria’s key export), and GEJ/PDP’s slow
progress on fighting corruption and improving
infrastructure. According to primaries in December
2014, Buhari/APC is viewed as more equipped to fight
insecurity and corruption.
Critics have pointed out that even with the
postponement, the Nigerian government is unlikely
to re-establish control in all the affected areas by the
date of the election. Distribution of the Permanent
Voters' Card (PVC) has begun in camps for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) from the three affected
states. Estimates of the number of IDPs range from
868,235 to 1.5 million people, and is not yet clear how
successful efforts will be to organize elections under
these circumstances.[24] Key Government officials in
Nigeria are publicly stating their opposition to the
postponement. Senator Chris Ngige, for example, has
accused the PDP of pressuring INEC to postpone the
general elections. [25]
In addition to growing criticism within Nigeria, on
February 8 Vanguard reported that "the United States
said it was 'deeply disappointed' by the delay." US
Secretary of State John Kerry, who had urged that
elections be held on time, "[warned] the Nigerian
government against using 'security concerns as a
pretext for impeding the democratic process.'"[26]
Additionally, the British Secretary of State, Phillip
Hammond, has revealed that he, too, is disgruntled
by the news: “The security situation should not be
used as a reason to deny the Nigerian people from
exercising their democratic rights. It is vital that the
elections are kept on track and held as soon as
possible.” [27] Deutsche Welle reported that "The
postponement has been seen by critics as a ploy by
President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling People's
Democratic Party (PDM) to buy time to sway support
from the popular main opposition candidate and
former military dictator, Muhammadu Buhari."[22]
As of 7 February 2015, threats of post-election
violence from both sides remained a concern, given
that hundreds of people died in the rioting that
followed the 2011 Nigerian presidential election,[22]
and rhetoric was running high. It was reported that
"the Council of Imams and Ulamas in Kaduna State ...
told the Niger Delta militants threatening chaos if
President Goodluck Jonathan loses the presidential
election that they stand to lose if there is a war."[28]
The GMB Volunteers, a group described as a
"frontline voluntary organization made up of
professionals, ethnic and religious groups," has
criticized hate advertisements directed against APC
candidate General Muhammadu Buhari.[29]
As of 9 February, although "Nigerian civil society is in
uproar" over the postponment, the north east
remains calm, and voters there appeared willing to
wait.[30]
Groups such as the Nigeria Stability and
Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) have "advised
political parties to stop making hate speeches against
opponents."[31]
The Nigeria Women Platform for Peaceful Election
(NWPPE) is collaborating with United Nations Women
to hold training sessions for journalists on gender-
based violence and gender sensitive reporting. A
"women situation room", similar to a "civil society
situation room" is planned for monitoring violence
against women during the elections.[32]
Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who has called the
postponement "an obstruction of democracy",
nonetheless released a statement saying "I charge
Nigerians to be calm, non-violent and steadfast. We
must be determined to make sure postponement
does not demoralize or disenfranchise us. We must
see this as a challenge for us to remain resolute in
yearning for a new democratic government; one that
will not see itself as above the people."[33]
On 31 January, a concert was held in Owerri, Imo
State, as part of the RSVP concert series, urging
young people to RSVP, Register, Select, Vote and
Protect. "Register - pick your Permanent Voters' card-
PVC, Select (select your candidates), and Vote - vote
not Fight, and Protect - protect your mandate." A
second RSVP concert is planned for Lagos on 8
February.[34]
The postponement was the topic of a Council on
Foreign Relations online conference call with John
Campbell on 28 February, 2015.[35]
According to the Nigerian Constitution, the
Presidential election must be held by 28 April.[30] As
Section 25 of the 2010 Electoral Act states, the date is
to be no later than 30 days before the expiration of
the previous office holders' term of office. [36]

Sai Jonathan!

Cait wait for saturday to come , so I will teach dis apc thugs lessons
Pls apc thugs go and register for hospital bed ooooo
Vote cum sai transformation
Vote cum sai jonathan
Vote cum sai pdp
Say no to fake change