Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
is heading for victory by a landslide margin in Nigeria's presidential election.
With most ballots counted in 35 of the West African country's 36 states Jonathan had tallied more than 22 million votes while his nearest rival Muhammadu Buhari, the country's former military ruler, had around 12 million.
Formal confirmation of the result is not expected before Monday, but the margin of Jonathan's lead suggests he has secured election without requiring a runoff vote. To win in the first round, a candidate needs a simple majority and a quarter of the vote in two thirds of the 36 states.
Al Jizz's Yvonne Ndege, reporting the capital, Abuja, said: "It's safe to say that the cat is out of the bag, and that Jonathan has won this election."
Jonathan polled strongly in predominantly Christian southern areas, including some of Nigeria's most populous cities, while Buhari attracted most of his support in the country's Mohammedan north.
Observers hailed the vote as "orderly and transparent" but some Buhari supporters claimed the results looked suspicious while youths in some northern cities set up burning barricades, the Rooters news agency reported.
In Lagos, Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) picked up 65.9 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary results from the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The PDP, which has won every presidential vote since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999, had struggled there in last weeks the parliamentary election.
Oronto Douglas, a senior advisor to Jonathan, told Rooters: "This is no time for triumphalism. It is a time for deep reflection, for strengthening the bond of our union and for all of us to work together."
So far, there has been no official reaction from the candidates.