According to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the 2023 Presidential election will be held on February 25, 2023.
Recall that the election was earlier scheduled for February 18, 2023, but with the signing of the Electoral Act, 2022, the Electoral Commission then announced a new date. This new date means the election is now 345 days away,
As Nigerians and other relevant stakeholders prepare for the upcoming polls, with many hoping for a leader that will lead the country away from its many struggles towards better outcomes; Dataphyte takes a look at the voting decisions across the country that earned us the current administration.
Why? History always holds covert and overt lessons, the 2015 and 2019 elections are far gone, but would voting patterns in 2023 be different from the last two general elections?
Number of Registered Voters in 2015 General Elections and States Where APC and PDP Won the Presidential Election
According to the data from INEC, 67.42 million Nigerians registered to vote in the 2015 general elections. However, the election recorded only 29.43 million votes cast, representing 43.65% voter turnout.
Although 14 candidates/political parties contested in the 2015 Presidential election, the contest was mainly between Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the then ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition party.
At the end of the contest, Mr Buhari of the APC won, having secured 15.42 million votes against the candidate of the PDP who polled a total of 12.85 million votes.
The APC won in 21 states, while PDP won in 15 states plus the FCT.
The Northern region (North Central, North East, and North West) favoured the APC as the party won in 16 out of the 19 states that make up the region. APC polled a total of 11.30 million votes in the 16 Northern states where it won.
Except for Ekiti state, the party also won in 5 out of the 6 South-Western states. It polled a total of 1.52 million votes from the 5 states.
APC did not win in any of the South-East and South-South states. The PDP won in all the states from both regions.
PDP won in only 3 northern states (Nassarawa, Plateau, Taraba, and the FCT) in the 2015 Presidential election. It polled only 1.29 million votes.
Number of Registered Voters in 2019 General Elections
84 million Nigerians registered to vote in the last general elections. Lagos and Kano states accounted for the highest number of registered voters, with 6.5 million and 5.4 million, respectively. This is not a surprise as both states have the highest population in the country.
Ekiti and Bayelsa States recorded the lowest number of registered voters. They had 923.1 and 909.9 thousand registered voters, respectively.
States Where the Two Major Political Parties Won in the 2019 Presidential Election
Seventy-three (73) political parties participated in the 2019 presidential election. However, the contest was largely between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
28.61 million votes were cast, which is a 35% turnout. The candidate of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari, polled a total of 15.19 million votes from the 36 states and the FCT, while his closest contender, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP polled 11.26 million votes.
The APC won in 19 states, while PDP won in 17 states plus the FCT.
Out of the 19 states in the 3 Northern regions (i.e North Central, North East, and North West), APC won 15 states, polling a total of 10.03 million votes, while PDP won in only 4 Northern states (Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Taraba) and the FCT with 1.95 million votes. In the 2015 Presidential election, the PDP also won in Plateau, Taraba, and FCT.
The APC also won in 4 of the 6 South-Western states (i.e Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, and Osun) polling a total of 1.43 million votes. The party however recorded zero wins in both South-East and South-South states, as PDP won in all the states in the two regions.
Although there was higher voter registration in 2019 compared to 2015, voter turnout to registered voters was low at 35%.
The opposition party gained little ground in the total number of states won in the 2019 general elections compared to the 2015 elections. 19 states in 2019, and 17 in 2015; although the total votes cast for them was lesser than in 2015.
All the other parties on the ballot did not win enough votes to present a challenge to the two main parties. Collectively, all 71 of them polled a total of 2.16 million votes which represents just 7.55% votes.