Nigerian President's Re-election Rejected by Opposition Candidate

 

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was declared the clear winner of the country’s presidential election on Wednesday.

Top opposition¹ candidate Atiku Abubakar has rejected the election results. The former vice² president said he would try to overturn the decision in court.

Buhari is nearing the end of his first term as president. During the election campaign, he appealed to voters to give him another chance to repair the country’s weak economy. Abubakar, a billionaire, offered campaign promises to “make Nigeria work again.”

Two major issues in Nigeria are insecurity and corruption³. Many people are tired of politicians becoming rich in office. The former military dictator appeared to profit in the vote from his public image of having strong morals.

Buhari spoke⁴ after the election results were announced.

“I would like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat. … Victory is enough reward for your efforts,” he said. The president also said he regretted the loss of many lives in violence before the voting.

Buhari promised that his administration will strengthen efforts in security, economic growth and fighting corruption.

In a prepared statement, Abubakar said he would have conceded “within seconds” if the vote had been free and fair. But he noted⁵ reports of cheating and problems in many of the country’s 36 states.

Abubakar said that voting was suppressed in parts of the south, where he has many followers⁶. He also said that states threatened by an extremist militancy⁷ had “much higher voter turnouts” than in peaceful ones. He was also angry about the deployment⁸ of the military in some areas.

Election observers from the Civic⁹ Media Lab found that Borno State reported a 13 percent increase in voters. Borno is the state most affected¹⁰ by extremist violence.

Legal challenges to election results are not new in Nigeria. Buhari fought earlier election losses for months without success. The Supreme¹¹ Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election.

The president’s followers and aides said they expected a challenge. “There’s no opposition that will roll over and play dead,” said Hameed Ali, a member of Buhari’s ruling party.

The president’s supporters began dancing in the streets of Abuja on Tuesday night as vote counting showed him leading Abubakar by nearly 4 million votes.

Buhari received 15.1 million votes, or 55 percent, election officials said. Abubakar received 11.2 million, or 41 percent.

Buhari’s party rejected Abubakar’s claim that the results were false. It called on Abubakar to accept his defeat. “Let this nation move forward,” a campaign spokesman told The Associated Press.

Many Nigerians have prayed for peace during the long election campaign. Some people recalled the 2015 election, when President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed his loss to Buhari before official results were announced. It was the first defeat of a president seeking reelection in the country’s history.

Now Nigerians are getting prepared for a court fight.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

challenge – v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct or legal

gloat – v. to show in an improper¹² or selfish way that you are happy with your own success or another person's failure

reward – n. something that is given or received for something that has been done or that is offered for something that might be done

concede – v. to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of something

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

8 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

9 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。