At Stake in this Election:  

• The Presidency of Nigeria * 

* A run-off election will be held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote. 

The presidential, Senate, and House elections will take place concurrently on 25 February 2023. State assembly elections (36 states) and gubernatorial elections (28 states) will be held on 18 March, and gubernatorial elections will be held in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa states in the fall of 2023.   

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015)  

• Head of Government: Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015) 

• Assembly: Bicameral legislature consisting of a 109-seat Senate and 360-seat House of Representatives 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by majority vote in up to two rounds. The president serves a 4-year term and may be reelected once. 

• To win the presidency, a candidate must receive a majority of the national vote and at least 25% of the vote in 24 out of 36 states. If no candidate achieves this in the first round, the top two candidates advance to the second (and final) round. 

• The Senate is composed of 109 members elected to 4-year terms by simple majority vote.  Each state is divided into 3 senatorial districts, each electing one senator.  One senator is also elected from the Federal Capital Territory. 

• The House of Representatives is composed of 360 members elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies.  They serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election:  

In 2019, Muhammadu BUHARI (All Progressives Party) was elected to the presidency with 55.6% of the vote.  Atiku ABUBAKAR (People’s Democratic Party) received 41.2% of the vote.  BUHARI is ineligible to run in this election due to term limits. 

New/Unique in this Election:   

The Electoral Act 2022 repeals the previous Electoral Act 2010 and makes procedural changes to many parts of the electoral process including, party primaries and candidate registration deadlines.  The act also gives the national electoral commission greater financial independence, places additional restrictions on campaign spending, and allows the use of voting machines, and mandates the electronic transmission of results to a central election database.  The act also requires political appointees to resign thirty days before becoming a candidate. 

Key Deadlines:  

• Candidate filing deadline: 8 August 2022 

• Voter registration deadline: 31 July 2022 

Main Candidates in this Election:   

• Bola Ahmed TINUBU 

• All Progressives Congress (APC) 

• Atiku ABUBAKAR 

• People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 

• Peter Gregory OBI 

• Labour Party (LP) 

• Christopher Irene IMUMOLEN 

• Accord (A) 

• Hamza ALMUSTAPHA 

• Action Alliance (AA) 

• Omoyele Stephen SOWORE 

• African Action Congress (AAC) 

• Dumebi KACHIKWU 

• African Democratic Congress (ADC) 

• Yabagi Yusuf SANI 

• Action Democratic Party (ADP) 

• Peter Nnanna Chukwudi UMEADI 

• All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) 

• Princess Chichi OJEI 

• Allied Peoples Movement (APM) 

• Osita Charles NNADI 

• Action Peoples Party (APP) 

• Sunday Oluwafemi ADENUGA 

• Boot Party (BP) 

• Rabiu Mohammed Kwankwaso MUSA 

• New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 

• Felix Johnson OSAKWE 

• National Rescue Movement (NRM) 

• Kolawole Latifu ABIOLA 

• People’s Redemption Party (PRP) 

• Adewole Ebenezer ADEBAYO 

• Social Democratic Party (SDP) 

• Abdulmalik ADO-IBRAHIM 

• Young Progressives Party (YPP) 

• Daniel Daberechukwu NWANYANWU 

• Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) 

Population and Registered Voters:  

• Population: 225,082,083 (2022 estimate)  

• Registered Voters: 93,469,008 (2023)  

Gender Data:  

• Female Population: 111,426,774  

• CEDAW status: Signed 23 April 1984; Ratified 13 June 1985 

• Gender Quota:  No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 8 out of 109 in the Senate; 13 out of 360 in the House of Representatives  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 163, 0.535 (2021 estimate)  

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High, 46% (2019 estimate)   

Disability Data:  

• CRPD status: Signed 30 March 2007; Ratified 24 September 2010 

• Projected population with disability: 33,762,312 (2022 est.)  

IFES Resources:  

• Does IFES have a presence in Nigeria: Yes, country office  

• Election FAQ: Yes 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 11 judgements & 21 resources