Nigeria’s presidential ballot

Nigeria’s presidential ballot – Unique Times

Nigeria’s ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari will be the main opposition candidate in nextyear’s presidential ballot after triumphing in a primary election, a televised count showed onThursday. Buhari will face President Goodluck Jonathan in the vote, scheduled for February 2015, whichwill be played out against a backdrop of economic woes and security fears tied to relentlessviolence being unleashed by Islamist militants.”It is my pleasure to declare Muhammadu Buhari winner of the All Progressives Congress(APC) primary,” the chief returning officer Fayemi Kayode told a cheering crowd in the national stadium in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub.Buhari won 3,430 votes out of a total around 6,000 cast, with the governor of the northern KanoState, Rabiu Kwankwaso, coming second in the five-strong race with 974 votes. Former vicepresident Atiku Abubakar secured just 954 ballots. Jonathan won the ruling party ticket on Thursday, with no challenger stepping forward from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)to oppose him.

Denisha Sahadevan