NIGERIA, 1 February, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, in a ruling pronounced, Nigeria’s Constitutional Court confirmed the second round of the presidential election to be held on 21 February, 2021.

The court observed that in the first round, none of the candidates got an absolute majority of votes, and whose annulment, partial or total cancellation claimed by opposition candidates was rejected by the Court.

"The Court receives the request of the President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Céni) in the form, validates and proclaims the final results of the first round of the presidential elections of 27 December, 2020. The court, therefore, declares Mohamed Bazoum and Mahamane Ousmane candidates in the second round of the presidential elections."

Mohamed Bazoum leads with 39.3% of the total 5.1 million votes followed by ex-president Mahamane Ousmane at 16.98%.

For the second round, Bazoum and Ousmane must engage in the negotiations with the 28 remaining candidates who did not place.

Eighteen opposition parties including that of Ousmane, gathered in the coalition Cap 20-21, called the failed candidates in the first round to join the candidacy of the former president.

Hama Amadou, the opponent rejected from the ballot because of conviction in the case of trafficking babies, Cap 20-21 already threatened not to recognize the results of the second round if it not honest and transparent without ballot box suffering.

The former President Salou Djibo has formed a second alliance, the Alliance of Candidates for Change (ACC), offering their support in the second round "to any interested candidate", in return for power-sharing afterwards, and also ten other unsuccessful candidates in the first round formed the alliance.

However, the score altogether of the ACC candidates does not exceed 10%.