Nigeria’s Electoral Commission Declares Muhammadu Buhari Winner of Elections

Nigeria’s electoral commission has declared incumbent Muhammadu Buhari the winner of the country’s presidential elections.

The announcement in the early hours of Wednesday means the 76-year-old has won a second four-year term at the helm of Africa’s largest economy and most populous country.

“Muhammadu Buhari … is hereby declared winner,” Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said.

Buhari defeated the main opposition party candidate Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, in the polls, held on February 23, after a last-minute postponement a week before.

Voting was marked by hours-long delays and deadly violence that observers said kept some people away from the polls.