General elections were held in Nigeria on 23 February 2019 to elect the President, Vice President, House of Representatives and the Senate. The elections had initially been scheduled for 16 February, but the Election Commission postponed the vote by a week at 03:00 on the original polling day, citing logistical challenges in getting electoral materials to polling stations on time. In some places, the vote was delayed until 24 February due to electoral violence. The elections were the most expensive ever held in Nigeria, costing ₦69 billion more than the 2015 elections. Incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari won his reelection bid, defeating his closest rival Atiku Abubakar by over 3 million votes. He has been issued a Certificate of Return, and will be sworn in on 12 June 2019.
The President of Nigeria is elected using a modified two round system, to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 36 states. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round is held. The 109 members of the Senate were elected from 109 single-seat constituencies (three in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory) by first-past-the-post voting. The 360 members of the House of Representatives were also elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies۔
A presidential and vice-presidential debate was organised by the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), with invitations extended to five of the 78 presidential candidates. The Debate Group explained the exclusion of other candidates as a measure to ensure the effectiveness of the debate and not an endorsement of the candidates chosen. The vice presidential debate was held on 14 December 2018, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels in Abuja. All invited vice presidential candidates were present, with candidates discussing their health, education, security and foreign affairs policies. The presidential debate occurred on 19 January 2019, and took place at the same venue. The two leading presidential contestants were absent, with Atiku Abubakar leaving the venue upon discovering that Muhammadu Buhari was absent. Fela Durotoye (ANN), Oby Ezekwesili (ACPN) and Kingsley Moghalu (YPN) continued the debate, while criticising the absence of the others. Mark Eddo moderated the debate.
Immediately following the elections there were claims of widespread fraud by the opposition. The claims included accusations of ballot box snatching, vote-trading and impersonation. There were also claims that caches of explosives found by police. The African Union said the elections were "largely peaceful and conducive for the conducting of credible elections." The electoral commission also described the elections as mostly peaceful.
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