Nigeria Election: The Build Up to the 2023 General Elections
The general elections in Nigeria will be placed in significant part on February 25 and March 11, 2023. On the 25th of February, the President and Vice President will be elected, with current President Muhammadu Buhari ineligible to compete due to his term limit.
There will also be elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives on the same day. In all 36 states, gubernatorial elections will be placed on March 11th, along with elections for state houses of assembly.
Later this year, two further gubernatorial elections will be held and possibly rerun elections for regularly scheduled elections that were canceled earlier in the year.
The Electoral system
Nigeria’s president is elected via a modified two-round system. A candidate must earn a majority of the vote and more than 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 36 states to be elected in the first round. A second round will be held if no applicant passes the first round.
The Senate’s 109 members are elected by first-past-the-post voting from 109 single-seat constituencies (three in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory). In single-member constituencies, the 360 members of the House of Representatives are also chosen through first-past-the-post voting.
Governors are elected in a modified two-round system, similar to the president. A candidate must earn a majority of the vote and more than 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of the state and local government regions to be elected in the first round.
Suppose no candidate receives a majority of votes in the most number of local government areas. In that case, a second-round will be held between the top contender and the next candidate to obtain a majority of votes in the most local government areas.
The 991 members of the state Houses of Assembly are chosen in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting.
National Assembly elections
Senate elections
All 109 seats in the Senate of Nigeria will be up for election alongside the presidential and House of Representatives elections on 25 February 2023.
House of Representatives elections
All 360 seats in the House of Representatives of Nigeria will be up for election alongside the presidential and Senate elections on 25 February 2023.
State elections
Gubernatorial elections
Governorship elections will be held in thirty of Nigeria’s 36 states. All but two will take place on March 11, 2023, with the Kogi State and Bayelsa State elections taking place later in the year.
House of Assembly elections
On March 11, 2023, all 36 states of Nigeria will have elections for the House of Assembly. Read More…
