Update 2 - Nigeria's Buhari Wins Presidential Race

Muhammadu Buhari has won Nigeria's presidential race, edging out incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.



The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) announced late Monday that Buhari won the northeastern Borno State with 473,543 votes against 25,640 for Jonathan.



Borno, a stronghold of Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC), was the only remaining state.



The INEC said it would later announce the total number of votes each of the two presidential contenders had gathered.



But according to a tally by the Anadolu Agency based on official figures, Buhari has accumulated nearly 15.4 million votes while Jonathan has won nearly 12.8 million.



Buhari has won 21 states while Jonathan won 15 states in addition to the federal capital Abuja.



Buhari has earlier this evening thanked the Nigerian people for choosing him and the APC over Jonathan and his PDP.



Jonathan has also phoned Buhari to congratulate him.



"I can confirm to you that the president called General Buhari to congratulate him at exactly 5: 15pm," Shenu told the Anadolu Agency by phone.



Section 134(2) of the Nigerian constitution says:



A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being more than two candidates for the election-



(a) He has the highest number of votes cast at the election;



and



(b) He has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.



Nigeria's newly elected president gets sworn on May 29, which is the handover date of the outgoing president.



It is a tradition taken up since 1999.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Lagos