Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s political kingmaker, wins a flawed election
Allegations of rigging may hamper his efforts to unite a divided country
AFTER A CHAOTICALLY organised vote and messy count, Bola Tinubu, the candidate of Nigeria’s incumbent ruling party, has been declared the winner of the closest presidential election in decades. Mr Tinubu, a 70-year-old former governor of Lagos and longtime kingmaker in Nigerian politics, took 37% of the vote, the electoral commission said on March 1st. This placed him ahead of Atiku Abubakar (29%), a tycoon standing for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition, and Peter Obi (25%), a wildcard third-party candidate representing the Labour Party.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A change of the old guard”
Middle East & Africa March 4th 2023
From the March 4th 2023 edition
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