Muhammadu Buhari on Monday got off to a winning start in his bid for re-election as Nigeria's president, as the first result was announced from weekend polls. The 76-year-old former military ruler won 219,231 votes in the southwestern state of Ekiti, while his main opponent, Atiku Abubakar, got 154,032, the electoral commission announced. Voting took place on Saturday in all of Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. More results are expected to be announced in Abuja in the coming days. Meanwhile, the head of the African Union observer mission in his first public comments about the delayed presidential poll on Saturday said on Monday that Nigeria's election took place in a generally peaceful environment. Analysts say the presidential election pitting President Muhammadu Buhari against businessman and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will be Nigeria's tightest since the end of military rule in 1999. A credible and relatively calm poll would open a new chapter in the checkered political history of Nigeria, where nearly six decades of independence have been tarnished by military coups, endemic corruption and secessionist movements. "The 2019 elections took place in a generally peaceful environment," said AU observer mission head Hailemariam Desalegn, the former prime minister of Ethiopia. As many as 39 people have been killed in election violence, civil society groups said on Sunday. The Situation Room — which represents more than 70 civil society groups — reported 39 deaths after Saturday's vote. In previous elections, the death toll has been higher, but most unrest typically occurs after results are announced. "Since beginning of campaigns in Oct 2018, more than 260 politically motivated deaths," Clement Nwankwo, convener of the Situation Room, which had 9,000 observers, told reporters. — Agencies
