President Goodluck Jonathan has won Nigeria's presidential election by securing 60.02 percent of the vote, results showed, he will be sworn-in on 29th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.
- Jonathan, 64, beat his main rival Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) by a wide margin, with Bukhari capturing only 30 percent of the vote, the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
- Jonathan – a Christian from the oil-producing Niger Delta – was the clear front-runner among several candidates going into the race. His main opponent Buhari, a former military ruler, is from the Muslim north.
- Jonathan came to power last year when his predecessor died in office following a lengthy illness.
- The former governor of southern Bayelsa state was born to a family of canoe makers in the riverine town of Otuoke situated in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
- He is the first president to come from the Southern minority group that has been agitating for resource control since petroleum exploration started in the early seventies.
- Jonathan will be sworn-in on 29th May to serve a four-year tenure after which he is free to go for a second term.
- Nigeria with a population of 150 million is divided between a largely Muslim North and mostly Christian South.
- The oil-rich country returned to democratic system in 1999 after several years of military rule. It has conducted elections every four years since then.
- It is the third time general elections are being held in Nigeria since military rule ended.
- The previous ones – in 2003 and 2007 – were marred by allegations of widespread rigging, voter intimidation and ballot vote snatching.
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