2011 Nigerian presidential election

None October 2019 August 2026 2011 Nigerian presidential election Nigeria presidential no 2007 Nigerian general election 2007 2015 Nigerian general election 2015 16 April 2011 73,528,040 registered votersVoter turnout data for Nigeria http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?CountryCode=NG International IDEA International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 28 April 2015 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150505062611/http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?CountryCode=NG 5 May 2015 25% in each of 2/3 States + Majorityhttp://www.inecnigeria.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FINAL-Approved-2015-Election-Guidelines-as-signed-PDF.pdf Approved Guidelines and Regulations for the Conduct of 2015 General Elections January 2015 Abuja Independent National Electoral Commission 21 January 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150121150519/http://www.inecnigeria.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FINAL-Approved-2015-Election-Guidelines-as-signed-PDF.pdf 21 January 2015 dead 53.68% Goodluck Jonathan 2014-08-05.jpg Goodluck Jonathan People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) Namadi Sambo 23 + FCT 22,495,187 58.87% Muhammadu Buhari 2015-07-21.jpg Muhammadu Buhari Congress for Progressive Change Tunde Bakare 12 12,214,853 31.97% Nuhu-nasir-femi cropped.jpg Nuhu Ribadu ACN Fola Adeola 1 2,079,151 5.44% 0080FF President Goodluck Jonathan (Acting) People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) Goodluck Jonathan People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) 2011 Nigerian presidential election results by state.svg Results by state Presidential elections were held in Nigeria on 16 April 2011, postponed from 9 April 2011.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11825092 BBC News Nigeria to hold presidential election on 9 April 23 November 2010Nigeria’s General Elections Postponed From January To April As A New Voter Registration Software Is Released By The Inec All West Africa News https://web.archive.org/web/20101202230837/http://www.allwestafrica.com/240920106989.html 2 December 2010 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/04/201143174718212830.html Aljazeera News Nigeria Elections postponed for second time 3 April 2011 The election followed controversy as to whether a northerner or southerner should be allowed to become president given the tradition of rotating the top office between the north and the south after the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, a northerner, when Goodluck Jonathan, another southerner assumed the interim presidency. Immediately after the election widespread violence erupted in the northern, Muslim parts of the country. Jonathan rival rejects vote result as thousands flee Nigeria unrest Daily Nation Kenya 20 April 2011 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/1148266/-/12k89km/-/index.html 21 April 2011 Jonathan was declared the winner on 19 April.Purefoy Christian Widespread election violence erupts in Nigeria http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/19/nigeria.election/?hpt=T1 https://web.archive.org/web/20110422085608/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/19/nigeria.election/?hpt=T1 dead 22 April 2011 CNN 20 April 2011 19 April 2011 However, international observers declared the election to be "orderly, free and fair" in the entire southern half of the country.https://nation.africa/News/africa/1066-1148266-12k89km/index.html Jonathan rival rejects vote result as thousands flee Nigeria unrest 3 July 2020 Background September 2010 According to a gentlemen's agreement within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) power is to rotate between the predominantly Muslim north and Christian south every two terms; this meant the flag bearer of the party for the 2011 election was scheduled to be represented by a Northerner.Toyin Falola Matthew M. Heaton A History of Nigeria https://books.google.com/books?id=XygZjbNRap0C&pg=PA297 24 April 2008 Cambridge University Press 978-1-139-47203-6 277 After the death of one term President Umar Yar'Adua, a Northern Muslim, his Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian, took over as acting president. The suggestion that Jonathan was considering running for the presidency in his own right was controversial as Yar'Adua had only served one of the two possible terms as president after Southerner Olusegun Obasanjo.Maja-Pearce Adewale Nigeria's 2011 presidential race tests North-South powersharing agreement https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0816/Nigeria-s-2011-presidential-race-tests-North-South-powersharing-agreement 17 April 2011 Christian Science Monitor 16 August 2010 Candidates Due to the zoning system, a Northern Muslim candidate, Ibrahim Babangida, a former general and military ruler, and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, ran for the presidency. After initial doubts,Nigeria sets presidential poll date Al Jazeera English, 7 September 2010 the interim president Goodluck Jonathan declared his intention to run for the presidency on 18 September 2010.Jonathan declares Nigeria poll bid Al Jazeera English, 18 September 2010 Muhammadu Buhari was seen as the principal opposition to Jonathan besides Nuhu Ribadu.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/20114101866893616.html Breaking News, World News and Video from al Jazeera english.aljazeera.net https://web.archive.org/web/20110413065657/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/20114101866893616.html 13 April 2011 In 2011, sixty-three political parties were registered in NigeriaThe Nigerian Voice| BATTLE OVER 'MEGA' TEARS TWO PARTIES APART 14 October 2010 Online newspaper Naija Gist reported that twenty-one parties were fielding candidates, but listed only 19. Only one woman, Ebiti Ndok, was running.Ndujihe Clifford Nigeria Presidential Candidate List for 2011 and Their Empty Promises http://naijagists.com/nigeria-presidential-candidate-list-for-2011-and-their-empty-promises/ 17 April 2011 n.d. Naija Gist Political parties Presidential candidates Running mates ACN Nuhu Ribaduhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12339017 BBC News Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to seek one term 1 February 2011 Fola Adeola ADC Peter Nwangwu Mani Ibrahim Ahmad ANPP Ibrahim ShekarauNigeria 2011 Presidential Candidates http://indepthafrica.com/news/westafrica/nigeria-2011-presidential-candidates/ Indepth Africa 17 April 2011 John Odigie Oyegun AFP Yahaya Ndu BNPP Iheanyichukwu Nnaji Kadijat Abubakar CPC Muhammadu Buharihttps://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE70400N20110105 https://web.archive.org/web/20110108061910/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE70400N20110105 dead 8 January 2011 Reuters Nigeria ex-military ruler picked for presidency bid 5 January 2011 Tunde Bakare FDP Chris Okotie HDP Ambrose Awuru Ibrahim Abdullahi LDP Chris Nwaokobia NCP Dele Momodu Yunusa Tanko NMDP Akpona Solomon - NTP John Dara - MPPP Rasheed Shitta-Bey - PDC Mahmud Waziri Clement Eze PDP Goodluck Jonathan Namadi Sambo PMP Nwadike Chikezie - SDMP Patrick Utomi Lawal Funtua UNPD Ebiti Ndok Galadima Samari Ibrahim BabangidaAdisa Taiwo Abuja Bomb Blasts: Odds Against IBB http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/front-page-articles/2238-abuja-bomb-blasts-odds-against-ibb.html 17 April 2011 The Tribune 9 October 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20101114091553/http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/front-page-articles/2238-abuja-bomb-blasts-odds-against-ibb.html 14 November 2010 Campaign Following a bombing in Abuja during Nigeria's 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations and the arrest and interrogation of the Director General of Babangida campaign, Raymond Dokpesi, there were calls for him to quit the race. In addition, others who linked his affiliates to the blasts. He responded in saying it would be "idiotic to link" him with attack. Even before the blasts, however, some of his former loyalists, popularly called "IBB Boys," apparently asked him to quit the presidential race to avoid being rubbished by a non-General.Abuja Bomb Blasts: Odds Against IBB https://web.archive.org/web/20101114091553/http://www.tribune.com.ng/sat/index.php/front-page-articles/2238-abuja-bomb-blasts-odds-against-ibb.html 14 November 2010 A.A Ujo Understanding elections Anyaotu Enterprises and Publisher 2000 Controversy Postponement In September 2010, the election commission requested a postponement of the polls citing the need for more time to overhaul the national electoral register. Critics were upset over the proposal.Plea to postpone Nigeria poll Al Jazeera English, 21 September 2010 The election was postponed from January to April 2011 due to the release of a new electronic voter registration software. Pre-election violence In December 2010, bombs went off in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State during a gubernatorial campaign rally. Politicians and police said that the campaign of violence aimed to disrupt the election.https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6BP0PM20101229 https://web.archive.org/web/20110101063645/http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6BP0PM20101229 dead 1 January 2011 Reuters Bombs, shootings hit Nigeria before election year 29 December 2010 There had been bombings and shootings in the north blamed on Boko Haram since 2009, intensifying during 2010. On 1 October 2010, the "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta", a militant group, claimed responsibility for dual car bombings during Nigeria's 50th independence anniversary celebrations in the capital that had killed at least 12. On Christmas Eve, 24 December 2010 a series of bombs went off in villages near Jos, the main city of the Plateau state, killing 32 people and leaving 74 others in critical condition, and on 31 December 2010 a bomb exploded in an open-air beer garden and market at army barracks in Abuja, killing at least four and wounding at least 21.Timeline: Tensions in Nigeria http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2010/01/201012314018187505.html 8 February 2015 Al Jazeera 26 December 2010 One of the controversy the 2011 election faced is the zoning controversy from one region to another when Goodluck Ebele Jonathan wanted to contest fully which lead to the southern and northern Nigeria then before the election.The zoning controversy of 2011 presidential election https://www.stears.co/article/flashback-to-2011-elections-a-game-of-zones/ 2026-09-30 www.stears.co Results The elections was reported in the international media as having run smoothly with relatively little violence or voter fraud in contrast to previous elections, in particular the widely disputed 2007 election. Indeed, at least one observer pronounced them the most smoothly run elections held since the restoration of democracy 12 years earlier.Nossiter Adam Nigerians Vote in Presidential Election https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp 17 April 2011 The New York Times 16 April 2011 The United States State Department said the election was "successful" and a "substantial improvement" over 2007, although it added that vote rigging and fraud also took place.The Recent Elections in Nigeria https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/af/rls/spbr/2011/161931.htm 28 April 2011 Johnnie Carson Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs The Guardian also noted that irregularities, such as underage voting and snatching of ballot boxes were reported.Goodluck Jonathan opens unassailable lead in Nigeria's presidential election https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/17/goodluck-jonathan-nigeria-election The Guardian 17 April 2011 London David Smith Buhari claimed that his supporters in the south were not allowed to vote.Opposition claims irregularities in Nigeria's presidential election http://www.france24.com/en/20110420-opposition-widespread-irregularities-presidential-election-nigeria-buhari 20 April 2011 france24.comeribake akintayo 2011-04-23 The Jonathan Presidency: Crisis that rocked the North: Why the violence escalated https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/04/the-jonathan-presidency-crisis-that-rocked-the-north-why-the-violence-escalated/ 2026-09-29 Vanguard News en-GB Goodluck Jonathan People's Democratic Party 22495187 Muhammadu Buhari Congress for Progressive Change 12214853 Nuhu Ribadu Action Congress of Nigeria 2079151 Ibrahim Shekarau All Nigeria Peoples Party 917012 Mahmud Waziri People for Democratic Change 82243 Nwadike Chikezie Peoples Mandate Party 56248 Lawson Igboanugo Aroh Peoples Progressive Party 54203 Peter Nwangwu African Democratic Congress 51682 Iheanyichukwu Nnaji Better Nigeria Progressive Party 47272 Chris Okotie Fresh Democratic Party 34331 Dele Momodu National Conscience Party 26376 Akpona Solomon National Majority Democratic Party 25938 Lawrence Makinde Adedoyin African Political System 23740 Ebiti Ndok United National Party for Development 21203 John Dara National Transformation Party 19744 Rasheed Shitta-Bey Mega Progressive Peoples Party 16492 Yahaya Ndu African Renaissance Party 12264 Ambrose Awuru Hope Democratic Party 12023 Patrick Utomi Social Democratic Mega Party 11544 Chris Nwaokobia Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria 8472 1259506 73528040 INEC Post-election violence Killings in Southern Kaduna The election sparked riots in Northern Nigeria. According to Human Rights Watch about 140 were killed in political violence before the election alone, between November 2010 until 17 April 2011, the day after the election. According to the head of a leading Nigerian civil rights group living in Kaduna, more than 500 mostly Muslim people had been killed in three villages just in Kaduna since 16 April 2011. A speaker for the "Open Society Justice Initiative" stated the only comparable episodes of violence occurred in the mid-1960s and early 1980s, which both led to government overthrow. Buhari had refused to condemn possible violent reaction to the election result, which has been interpreted as an invitation to his supporters to riot. Up to 1,000 people could have died in post-election violence.https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/africa/25nigeria.html The New York Times Adam Nossiter Election Result Fuels Deadly Clashes in Nigeria 24 April 2011 https://archive.today/20251128004222/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/africa/25nigeria.html 2025-11-28 live2011-05-16 Nigeria: Post-Election Violence Killed 800 Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/16/nigeria-post-election-violence-killed-800 2026-09-30 en There are report of post election violence which lead to killing of people in portharcourt after the declaration of the winner of the presidential election.https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/politics-war-human-rights-impact-and-causes-post-election-violence-rivers-state Further reading John A. Ayoade, and Adeoye A. Akinsanya, eds. Nigeria's Critical Election, 2011 (Lexington Books; 2012) References Category:Presidential elections in Nigeria Nigeria Pres Nigerian presidential election