On Wednesday, March 1, Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of one of Nigeria’s two big political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of Saturday’s vote — but his mandate is both weak and contested. The voting was delayed and tainted by technical issues, and in some places was characterized by violence and voter intimidation. Local and international observers have confirmed this, but it is uncertain if that has affected the results, as has been widely claimed by opposition supporters.

A day before the announcement, the two main presidential contenders, the Peoples Democratic Party (the other partner in Nigeria’s “two party system”), and the Labour Party (which sponsored Peter Obi’s candidacy), called for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which runs elections in Nigeria, to cancel the election. The day after the announcement, both Atiku Abubakar (of the Peoples Democratic Party) and Obi declared themselves winners of the election, and said they will challenge the outcome. So we can expect court challenges lodged by them.

There is also potential for litigation over different interpretations of the election law. The winning presidential candidate needs the largest number of votes plus at least 25 percent of the votes in “two thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.” Tinubu did not get the required 25 percent in Abuja. INEC did not interpret the law that way and declared Tinubu the winner.