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LAGOS. — Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s party has finished second in a state election seen as a test of his popularity and opposition strength, the country’s electoral watchdog said yesterday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission said on its website that Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party received 97 700 votes in the race for a new governor in south eastern Anambra state, while the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) was just behind with 95,963 votes.
Victory went to the All Progressive Grand Alliance which retained the governorship with 180 178 votes, INEC said of the election that concluded on Saturday.
Voting in Anambra was being watched to determine the extent of public support for Jonathan before his expected run for re-election in 2015.
He has not yet declared his candidacy but some within his party believe that he should uphold an unwritten rule that the presidency rotates between a candidate from the majority Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south. — AFP.
Online Reporter