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<\/a><\/p>\n28 December 2011<\/p>\n
\nNigeria’s Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan’s electoral victory in April alleging irregularities and seeking a re-run.<\/p>\n
“This appeal lacks merit and it is accordingly dismissed,” said Judge Olufunmilayo Adekeye, who read out the decision of the seven-member Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The opposition Congress for Progressive Change had alleged irregularities in the conduct of the poll and sought its cancellation to pave the way for a re-run. The CPC’s candidate, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, came second.<\/p>\n
Buhari, military ruler from January 1984 to August 1985, called the court’s ruling “politically motivated.”<\/p>\n
“This decision of the Supreme Court is politically motivated and it has little judicial content,” he said outside the court.<\/p>\n
Nigeria’s April presidential election was judged by observers to be a major improvement over previous polls that had been wracked by violence and fraud, though significant problems remain.<\/p>\n
The vote also exposed Nigeria’s deep ethnic and religious divisions, with Buhari, a Muslim from the north, winning support across much of that region.<\/p>\n
Jonathan, a Christian from the oil-producing Niger Delta, dominated in his native south.<\/p>\n
Three days of rioting across the north after the election left some 800 people dead.<\/p>\n
Fears have again been raised over the country’s divisions in recent days, with a wave of attacks on Christmas blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram sparking fears of renewed sectarian violence. – ANP\/AFP<\/em><\/p>\nAllAfrica – All the Time<\/p>\n
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