Nigeria's opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari is ahead of President Goodluck Jonathan in early vote counts

Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega (C), INEC Commissioner Nuru Yakubu (L) and INEC staff member Abdullahi Usman at a vote collection center in Abuj

(Image credit: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

published 31 March 2015

An early vote count from Nigeria's election has opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari ahead of President Goodluck Jonathan by two million votes. While the lead is formidable, many of the country's large states in the south have not declared their results yet. A former military ruler whose defeat in the last election resulted in rioting that left 800 dead, Buhari has made fighting the Islamist militant group Boko Haram a centerpiece of his campaign. If Buhari wins, Jonathan would be Nigeria's first incumbent to lose a presidential election. —Meghan DeMaria

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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.