Top Key Points You Should Know About The Elections

Nigeria’s general elections, which were shifted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by six weeks, are fast approaching.

Checkout below the key points you should know about the electoral system in our country.

Presidential election:

1. All 14 candidates have signed an agreement binding them to credible and non-violent elections.
2. Official campaigning is due to end on 27 March – 24 hours before voting day.
3. To win in the first round, a candidate needs more than 50% of the national vote and at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states.
4. The minimum voting age is 18. Biometric cards will be used for the first time in Nigeria. According to the INEC, more than 80% of the nearly 70 million qualified voters have obtained their identity cards.
5. An extra 30,027 voting stations have been set up, bringing the total to 150,000 nationwide.
6. Polls will open at 08:00 (07:00 GMT). All voters must be present at their designated polling station by 13:00 to be allowed to cast their ballot. Polls will close when the last person in the queue has voted.
7. The authorities say 360,000 police officers will be positioned at strategic areas, along with sniffer dogs.
8. The INEC has agreed the presence of international and native observers to monitor the polls, while the European Union says its observers will not operate in the north-east due to security reasons.
9. Parliament rewrote the electoral law on January 15, allowing an estimated one million people displaced by the Boko Haram terrorism to vote. They can cast their votes at specially-provided facilities near or within camps in their states of origin.
10. If there is no absolute winner in the first round, the law says a run-off poll must be held within seven days. But the INEC has said it is uncertain whether a run-off election could be provided in a week. Victory in a run-off poll is by simple majority.
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The parliamentary and gubernatorial polls:

1. The parliamentary polls have also been shifted to 28 March, with 739 aspirants competing for a place in the 109-seat Senate and 1,780 seeking election to the 360-seat National Assembly.
2. Nigerians will vote again on 11 April to choose new governors and state assemblies for 29 of the 36 states.
3. Like the president, governors are limited to two four-year terms, so this poll will see new occupants in many states.
4. Governors hold huge power because they distribute federally disbursed income and shape policy on development and security in their states.
5. Among the main states to watch are Lagos, Kano and Rivers – currently in APC hands – because of their large populations and economic power. Some of these states have budgets larger than those of neighbouring countries, meaning there is fierce competition to run them.

Only two presidential candidates have real chances of being elected: General Muhammadu Buhari from the opposition All Progressives Congress and the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

President Jonathan is running for the second time. His party has dominated Nigerian politics since civilian rule was reinstated in 1999, but now faces its hardest poll challenge from the opposition.

General Buhari was the military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985. He is contesting for the fourth time and it is the second time in a row that Buhari is opposing Jonathan.

The previous polls have been tarnished by violence and accusations of vote-rigging. Since campaigning began in mid-November, both the ruling and opposition factions have reported violent attacks which have killed a number of their supporters.