This weekend, over 90 million Nigerians may head to the polls in an election that’s not for the faint hearted. The one thing that has stood out for me as a journalist who has covered elections in Nigeria for over 20 years is the violence – and fear of violence – that usually surrounds them.
This year is no different. Rising incidents of violence aimed at the electoral commission’s properties and officials, especially in the south-east region of the country, are already a cause for concern. This could pose a
serious threat to the election, along with the dangers of using religion as a campaign tool. In my experience, another issue that has blighted Nigeria’s elections over the last 24 years is vote buying.
Aside from the fear factor, Nigeria’s general election – the largest in Africa – requires immense logistical organisation. The figures are astounding: more than 170,000 polling stations and over 1.2 million trained electoral officials.
The 2023 presidential election is being contested by 18 political parties, but it currently looks like a three-horse race. The candidates whose prospects look particularly promising are: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and
Peter Obi. And there are thousands of candidates vying for Nigeria’s National Assembly. To help voters navigate through the electoral maze, we’re sharing a new tool that has been developed.
One can only hope that with tools like this, Nigerians can easily identify their polling units and their candidates of choice, rise above the fear of insecurity and go out in their numbers to vote on 25 February.
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