While Nigeria has made significant improvements to the quality of its elections since the transition to democratic rule in 1999, the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections, which saw President Muhammadu Buhari reelected and the All Progressives Caucus (APC) regain its legislative majority, were marred by consistent irregularities. Corruption also remains endemic in the petroleum industry, a key sector of the economy. Security challenges, including the ongoing insurgency by the Boko Haram militant group, kidnappings, and communal and sectarian violence in the restive Middle Belt region, threaten the human rights of millions of Nigerians. The response by the military and law enforcement agencies to the widespread insecurity often involves extrajudicial killings, torture, and other abuses. Civil liberties are also undermined by religious and ethnic bias, and discrimination against women and LGBT+ people remains pervasive. The vibrant media landscape is impeded by criminal defamation laws, as well as the frequent harassment and arrests of journalists who cover politically sensitive topics.
INEC declined to certify winning candidates in two Assembly races because their local returning officers operated under duress.in the electoral process, including a last-minute postponement of voting, delays at polling places that disenfranchised voters, insufficient transparency surrounding vote counting, the obstruction of observers, and violence and intimidation, including by the security forces.
Nigeria’s multiparty system provides an opportunity for opposition parties to gain power through elections, as demonstrated by President Buhari’s victory over his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, in 2015. Buhari’s election marked the first time in Nigerian history that a sitting president was peacefully replaced. Opposition parties can also gain influence when legislators cross the aisle; a wave of APC legislators defected to the PDP during the 2015–19 legislative session, ultimately depriving that party of its majority.New political parties have successfully entered the National Assembly in recent years; the new YPP won its first Senate seat in 2019. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which was formed in 2003, won nine seats in the lower house in 2019. However, two parties—the APC and PDP—st