World
Nigeria Opposition Holds Lead in Early Voting Results
Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan gestures, during an election campaign rally, at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
KADUNA, Nigeria (The Washington Post) — As results from Nigeria’s presidential elections continued to trickle in for a third day, opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari retained his lead over President Goodluck Jonathan, increasing the likelihood that an incumbent could for the first time lose a national election here.
Buhari, a former military dictator, led by a half million votes as Nigerians waited anxiously for both the final results and the public reaction to them. Groups within both parties have threatened violence if their candidate loses. The military has been dispatched to areas of concern in preparation for unrest.
By early afternoon in Nigeria, about 20 million votes had been counted. Two of the country’s 36 voting blocs had yet to announce their results, which are expected later in the day.
Supporters of the president’s party, apparently fearing a loss, have already accused the country’s election commission of bias. One man, a former minister, sat on stage during the official announcement of results on Tuesday, berating the commission’s director and refusing to let the process resume.
