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The US Congratulates Nigeria On Their Just Concluded Election, Calls For Peace And Calmness

SK 2 years ago 2 min read

The US congratulated Nigeria on the election of ruling party presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, but urged calm amid allegations of voter fraud and technological glitches.
According to aides, Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the election aftermath with his Nigerian colleague, Geoffrey Onyeama, on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a State Department spokesman congratulated “President-elect Tinubu,” who was proclaimed the winner of the February 25 elections in Africa’s most populous democracy.

“This competitive election represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy,” Ned Price told reporters Wednesday.

Price acknowledged the discontent among some Nigerians over the validity of the results, as at least one opposition figure has promised to dispute the outcome.

“We understand that many Nigerians and some of the parties have expressed frustration about the manner in which the process was conducted,” he said.

“Nigerians are clearly within their rights to have such concerns and should have high expectations for their electoral process,” Price said, urging political leaders to register their concerns through established legal “mechanisms.”

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate, received 8.8 million votes, while the major opposition candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, received 6.9 million and 6.1 million votes, respectively.

Officials in Nigeria had hoped that new biometric voter identity technology would make this election the cleanest yet, but malfunctions, lengthy delays, and slow results have fueled allegations of fraud.

“We call on all parties to refrain from violence or inflammatory rhetoric at this critical time,” Price said.