Nigeria’s 2015 elections in brief

Nigerians go to the polls on March 28, and April 11, 2015 to pick a new president, legislators and state governors.The country operates a presidential system of government. The President heads the central (federal) government with executive powers to appoint cabinet ministers numbering 42.It has 36 states led by elected governors who run the state […]

Nigerians go to the polls on March 28, and April 11, 2015 to pick a new president, legislators and state governors.
The country operates a presidential system of government. The President heads the central (federal) government with executive powers to appoint cabinet ministers numbering 42.
It has 36 states led by elected governors who run the state in executive capacity.‎ The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja which has the status of a state is headed by a minister appointed by the President.
There are 28 registered political parties in Nigeria. Below is a list of the parties as provided by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

1. Accord Party
2. All Progressives Congress
3. All Progressives Grand Alliance
4. Action Alliance
5. Citizens Popular Party
6. Advanced Congress of Democrats
7. Allied Congress Party of Nigeria
8. Alliance for Democrats
9. African Democratic Congress
10. African Peoples Alliance
11. Democratic Peoples Party
12. Fresh Democratic Party
13. Hope Democratic Party
14. Independent Democrats
15. KOWA Party
16. Labour Party
17. Mega Progressive Peoples Party
18. National Conscience Party
19. New Nigeria Peoples Party
20 People for Democratic Change
21. Peoples Democratic Movement
22. Peoples Democratic Party
23. Progressives Peoples Alliance
24. Peoples Party of Nigeria
25. Social Democratic Party
26. United Democratic Party
27.Unity Party of Nigeria
28 United Progressive Party

Among the 28 political parties, 14 are fielding candidates for the presidential elections. The incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan flying the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress’s (APC) candidate Retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari are the front runners. Either of them is expected to emerge winner.

Nigeria operates bicameral legislature; Senate and House of Representatives collectively called the National Assembly (parliament).
The senate president, David Mark is seeking for re-election for a fifth term from his constituency in Benue state to return to the chambers in the 2015 election. He has secured his party’s, (PDP) ticket.

On the other hand, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has the ticket to run for governor in Sokoto state, under the platform of the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress. He used to be in the PDP.
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The opposition party, APC has majority members in the House of Representatives, which has 360 members from across the states of the country and FCT.

The APC has 180 members, while PDP has 157, even as other political parties make the remaining 23 slots.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the body responsible for conducting the general elections has made public the register of voters, who would participate in the elections. A total of 68.8 million Nigerians have had their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) printed by the commission and are being distributed since April 2014.

Latest data from the commission said about 57 million voters, out of the total 68.8 million, representing 81.22 percent have collected their PVCs.

The INEC has fixed March 22, 2015 which is a week to the rescheduled polls, as the deadline for the collection of the PVCs in all the states.

There are 380 governorship candidates vying for the 29 state governorship positions on various political platforms, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Kano and Imo states have the highest number of candidates, with 22 political parties fielding candidates into the governorship elections respectively.

Zamfara state follows with 20 candidates vying for the state’s governorship office, which is closely followed by Ebonyi state, with 19 candidates. Rivers and Delta states each have 18 candidates.

Lagos and Kebbi states have 17 candidates vying for the positions, while Ogun has 16 governorship hopefuls.

However, Jigawa states recorded the least number of governorship candidates with only four political parties contesting the elections.

Yobe and and Cross River states each have five candidates standing on different political parties for the states’ governorship positions.

INEC also released the list of 14 presidential candidates and their deputies.