The 2019 Kaduna State gubernatorial election occurred on March 9, 2019. APC candidate Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai defeated main opposition party PDP's candidate, Isah Ashiru, to emerge winner of the contest. APC was said to have won 14 LGAs, PDP nine.
Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai emerged winner in the APC gubernatorial primary election unopposed. His running mate was Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe.
Of the 38 candidates who contested in the election, 36 were male, two were female.
Electoral system
The Governor of Kaduna State is elected using a modified two-round system. Under Section 179 of the Constitution of Nigeria, a candidate is elected governor if they receive the highest number of votes cast and at least one-quarter of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.
If no candidate satisfies both requirements, a second election is held in accordance with Section 179 of the Constitution between the leading candidates meeting the constitutional requirements.
Primary election APC primary The APC primary election was held at Murtala Square, Kaduna. El-Rufai was declared the winner of the contest unopposed, with a total score of 2,447. However, there were a total of 33 invalid votes, according to the committee chairman of the elections, Mr Matthew Iduoriyekemwen. A total of 3,782 delegates participated in the election from across the 23 LGAs if the state.
Candidates Party nominee: Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai: Sole contestant (2,447 votes) Running mate:Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe.
PDP primary The PDP primary election was kick-started at exactly 2:57 PM at the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex on Sunday September 30, 2018, and concluded on Monday October 1. Isah Ashiru Kudan, who earlier contested in the 2014 APC primary elections for the 2015 Kaduna gubernatorial election coming out first runner-up, emerged victorious as the PDP flag-bearer for the 2019 Kaduna State gubernatorial election. There were 2,654 delegates from 20 of the 23 LGAs present at the 2018 PDP Kaduna gubernatorial Primaries, whose 39 votes were declared invalid. There were a total of 10 aspirants, two of which withdrew in the process.
Candidates Party nominee: Isah Ashiru Kudan: Winner (1,330 votes). Running mate: Sunday Marshall Katung. Mohammed Sani Sidi: 1st Runner-up (569 votes) Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi: 2nd Runner-up (564 votes) Mukhtar Ramalan Yero: 3rd Runner-up (36 votes) Shuaibi Miqati: 4th Runner-up (16 votes) Jonathan Kish Adamu: 5th Runner-up (2 votes) Dauda Ahmadu Ibrahim: (0 votes) Muhammad Sani Bello: (0 votes) Ja’afaru Sa’ad: Withdrew Muhammed Bello Umar: Withdrew
Results
The election was contested by 38 candidates. Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), receiving 1,045,427 votes. Isah Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finished second with 814,168 votes. El-Rufai therefore won by a margin of 231,259 votes.
El-Rufai won 14 of the state's 23 local government areas, while Ashiru won nine. El-Rufai won the election with 55.32% of the valid votes, compared with 43.08% for Ashiru.
There were 3,932,492 registered voters in Kaduna State for the 2019 general elections. The valid votes cast in the governorship election totalled 1,889,714, representing approximately 48.05% of registered voters.
By local government area A total of 38 political parties were reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to have aspirants for the Kaduna State Governorship poll. The results of the election by local government area, representing the two major contenders are presented here below. Green represents LGAs won by Ashiru. Blue represents LGAs won by el-Rufai.
Withdrawals and endorsements
In the final days of the campaign, several minor-party candidates announced their support for the two major candidates. On 1 March 2019, the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Polycarp Gankon, and the Liberation Movement, Nigeria (LM), Ezekiel Habila, withdrew from the race and endorsed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Isah Ashiru.
Three days later, 32 other governorship candidates announced their support for the incumbent governor, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, who was seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. The candidates represented a number of smaller political parties and described their decision as an endorsement of el-Rufai's candidacy ahead of the election.
Legal challenges
The Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Isah Ashiru, challenged the election result at the Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. The petitioners alleged irregularities and over-voting and sought, among other reliefs, a recount of votes cast in the election.
On 28 May 2019, the tribunal rejected an application by the PDP and Ashiru for a recount of the votes. The tribunal held that it could not grant the application in the form presented and struck out the motion.
On 9 September 2019, the election petition tribunal dismissed the substantive petition and upheld Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai's election. The tribunal held that the petitioners had failed to establish their allegations of electoral irregularities and that there was insufficient evidence to overturn the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ashiru appealed the tribunal's decision to the Court of Appeal. In November 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and affirmed the tribunal's decision upholding el-Rufai's election.
On 18 December 2019, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Ashiru's appeal and affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, thereby upholding el-Rufai's election as Governor of Kaduna State. County (LGA)Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai APCIsah Ashiru PDPTotal votes#%#%# Birnin Gwari 32,292 16,901 Chikun 24,262 86,251 Giwa 51,455 19,834 Igabi 102,612 31,429 Ikara 41,969 22,553 Jaba 6,298 22,976 Jema'a 21,265 63,129 Kachia 30,812 51,780 Kaduna North 97,243 27,665 Kaduna South 102,035 37,948 Kagarko 21,982 26,643 Kajuru 10,229 34,658 Kaura 8,342 38,764 Kauru 34,844 31,928 Kubau 57,182 17,074 Kudan 28,624 22,022 Lere 71,056 45,215 Makarfi 34,956 22,301 Sabon Gari 57,655 25,519 Sanga 20,806 21,226 Soba 55,046 25,440 Zangon Kataf 13,448 87,546 Zaria 111,014 35,356 Totals
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