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Nigerian President Calls for Calm Following Re-Election

   Scott Stearns | Dakar  April 19, 2011
   Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (C), accompanied by his running
   mate Arc Namadi Sambo, is congratulated by Cabinet members after being
   declared winner of the presidential election, in Abuja, on A

Photo: AFP

   Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (C), accompanied by his running
   mate Arc Namadi Sambo, is congratulated by Cabinet members after being
   declared winner of the presidential election, in Abuja, on April 18,
   2011

   Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is calling for calm after days of
   electoral violence in northern states. He was re-elected in a vote that
   most observers believe was largely free and fair.
   President Jonathan says security forces are moving to repress violence
   in northern states where rioters burned the home of his vice president,
   threw stones at security forces and broke open a jail.
   "I want to ensure all Nigerians that government will take all necessary
   measures to guarantee the security of the lives and property of all
   Nigerians," he said.
   In a nationwide address, Jonathan called on the patriotism of political
   and religious leaders to urge their supporters to refrain from acts of
   bitterness and violence, saying no one's political ambition is worth
   the blood of Nigerians.
   "We are all winners. In this context, there is no victor and no
   vanquished," he said. "Nigerians have proved to the world that we are
   capable of holding free, fair, and credible elections."
   Electoral Commission President Attahiru Jega says Jonathan won that
   vote with about 57 percent of ballots cast.
   "Goodluck E. Jonathan of PDP, having certified the requirements of the
   law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the
   winner and his return elected," he said.
   Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari finished second with about 31
   percent of the vote. Jonathan avoids a second-round run-off by winning
   at least one-quarter of the vote in at least 24 states.
   That provision is meant to ensure that a Nigerian president has some
   measure of national support and is not simply a regional candidate. But
   much of the vote appears to have broken down along regional lines, with
   President Jonathan winning the south and Buhari winning the north.
   Red Cross officials say hundreds of people have been wounded in the
   violence and thousands of people displaced. However, they have not yet
   released a death toll for the rioting.

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