Nigeria’s Jonathan wins party primaries

In Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan has won the primary election for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Jonathan fended off a challenge from Nigeria’s northern politcal elite and is set to contest the presidential election in April for the party.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

"This mandate is unique as it makes a decisive statement in the history of our country," Jonathan said after he was declared winner of a vote by party delegates. "This is a time for the country to move forward in unity."

He defeated his rival Atiku Abubakar, an former vice-president who has the backing of elite politicians in the mainly Muslim north.

In the end, Jonathan won with over 2,700 votes compared to Abubakar's close to 800. A spokesman for Abubakar, however, alleged rigging and intimidation.

Jonathan was expected to defeat Abubakar. However, correspondent Ben Shemang says the results show Jonathan – a southerner - has done very well in the north.

“People are very, very surprised, in the south, west, north and in the east,” says Shemang in Abuja. “Goodluck Jonathan is winning, winning seriously. He has even been winning in the north where he had faced stiff opposition.”

An unwritten rule within the PDP sees its presidential candidates rotate between the north and the south every two terms. The PDP has won every presidential vote since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

Many see the rotation between the north and the south as a power-sharing deal to keep the country together, while others see it as an outdated policy which panders to ethnic politics.

Jonathan, a southern Christian, took office mid-term following the death of his predecessor who was still in his first term.

On Friday, the primary of opposition party Action Congress of Nigeria is expected to take place.

While Jonathan will be favoured in the election in April, there are signs the vote may be more competitive than other recent ballots in Nigeria, particularly if opposition parties succeed in forming an alliance against him.