ABUJA - Opposition leaders blamed the country’s electoral commission for failing to create a seamless results transmission digital platform.
Whether high-profile Nigerians supported Tinubu or not, the ruling party candidate has been declared president-elect, to the despair of his rivals. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the country’s main opposition force whose candidate Atiku Abubakar came second in the vote, has denounced the results as a “grave injustice” and will be moving to court to challenge them “because our mandate was stolen.” The other frontrunner, Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, also claimed “We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians.”
Some of those who dispute the election’s outcome blame the introduction of technology in the vote collating process. They say the creation of a digital layer in the determination of the future of the lives of 220 million Nigerians is responsible for the contested results.
Sounds familiar? I followed every aspect of the Nigerian election, and I realized it mirrors the script of Kenya’s vote last August—a winner is announced, and the main competitor goes to court citing a hacked vote tallying and verification portal.
The only part that remains to be seen is what the outcome of the court battle will be.
The biggest question remaining once the court makes a decision, is what everyday life in Nigeria is going to look like under the new administration. At the end of the day, this is what matters most to voters, no matter which government gets in place.
