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Nigeria's Opposition PDP Says Vote Results Are Being Manipulated

Nigeria's Opposition PDP Says Vote Results Are Being Manipulated

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party said some presidential election results had been manipulated and it would challenge them, after a handful of early numbers gave a lead to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari and his All Progressives Congress party have worked with election officials “to alter the course of history and disenfranchise our people through the cancellation and manipulation of figures for results already announced at polling units, nationwide, in local government areas where our party, the PDP, had commanding votes,” Chairman Uche Secondus said in a statement Monday. “This must now be resisted by every well meaning Nigerian.”

Buhari won the first five of 36 states announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, the capital, on Monday. His main challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, took the Federal Capital Territory. The general election on Saturday was marred by delays, technical glitches and sporadic violence that killed at least 39 people.

--With assistance from Tope Alake.

To contact the reporters on this story: Anthony Osae-Brown in Lagos at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net;Paul Wallace in Lagos at pwallace25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Sophie Mongalvy

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