| Parliament name |
National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
House of Representatives
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
28 March 2015 |
| Purpose of elections |
The All Progressives Congress (APC), established in February 2013 by four opposition parties (see note), won the parliamentary and presidential elections, defeating President's Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP), which had ruled the country since the end of military rule in 1999. The APC took 212 seats in the House of Representatives and 60 seats in the Senate. Mr. Muhammadu Buhari (APC) - a retired Major General in the Army who ruled Nigeria between 1983 and 1985 - was sworn in as the new President on 29 May.
The 2015 elections were held against the background of the Boko Haram insurgency. On 7 February, one week before the planned polling day, the election commission announced the postponement of the elections by six weeks. It stated that voters' safety could not be guaranteed when the country's security forces were fighting against Boko Haram. It added that the postponement would also allow it to distribute more voters' cards. The major electoral issues included the fight against Boko Haram, tackling corruption and reviving the economy, which had been hit by slumping oil prices.
Note :
The APC comprised the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). These parties had separately won a total of 132 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate in the 2011 elections. In December 2013 37 PDP members in the House of Representatives defected to the APC, followed in January 2014 by 11 PDP senators and in October 2014 by House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal. At the time of the 2015 elections, the APC reportedly held over 180 seats in the House of Representatives, against 160 for the PDP. |
Date of previous elections: 9 & 26 April 2011
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 4 June 2015
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: April 2019
Number of seats at stake: 109 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 747 (619 men, 128 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 17.1%
Number of parties contesting the election: 28
Number of parties winning seats: 2
Alternation of power: Yes
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 9 June 2015
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki (All Progressives Congress, APC) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 28 March 2015 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
67'422'005
29'432'083 (43.65%)
|
|
Notes
|
Turnout figures for the presidential elections. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| All Progressives Congress (APC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Democratic Party (PDP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| All Progressives Congress (APC) |
60
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Democratic Party (PDP) |
48
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
101
7
6.48%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
As at 23 July 2015, there was one vacant seat.
IPU Group (18.06.2015, 23.07.2015)
http://www.inecnigeria.org/?page_id=155
http://www.inecnigeria.org/?page_id=31 |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
