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Nigeria: Opposition party convenes to select candidate to run against Jonathan
Nigeria’s main opposition coalition began a convention Wednesday to select a candidate to take on incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in February, in what will be the most closely contested presidential election since the end of military rule in 1999.
The two front runners leading the race for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket are: Muhammadu Buhari and ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar, both Muslims from the country’s north.
Three other candidates have put their names forward to challenge Jonathan, a southern Christian, who has come under fire for his handling of the economy and the terror campaign by the al-Qaeda linked Boko Haram Islamist militants.
Eight thousand delegates began gathering in Nigeria’s national stadium in the commercial capital Lagos, to vote for their choice. Results are expected on Thursday.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) holds its primary on Thursday, a formality since Jonathan has already been approved as its’ sole candidate.
The presidential and general elections in Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy, are scheduled for February 14.
They occur against a backdrop of a plunge in fiscal revenues and a currency devaluation triggered by falling oil prices.
Jonathan’s bid for a second elected term has upset northern elites who argue he broken an unwritten deal that power rotate between north and south every two terms. He ran in 2011, after replacing northerner Umaru Yar’Adua, who died during his first term in 2009.
The main opposition front runner, Muhammadu Buhari has huge grassroots support and is seen as one of the few leaders in the country’s history who was tough on corruption after he seized power in a 1983 coup.
The other opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has largely campaigned on the achievements of his government under ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, which include getting Nigeria’s debt written off and creating Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight graft and fraud.
Source: Reuters