ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian election tribunal sided Tuesday with the president in a challenge of the vote that brought him to power last year and that opposition leaders say was tainted by fraud.
The two opposition leaders vowed to appeal — sticking to a legal, peaceful route that is perhaps a sign of the African nation’s maturing democracy in contrast to its past and violence that followed Kenya’s disputed presidential election.
In a judgment delivered over three hours to a packed, sweltering courtroom, the tribunal said the petitions by former strongman Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lacked evidence that fraud had materially affected the outcome of the April 21 vote.
President Umaru Yar’Adua welcomed the decision.
“Today’s event is a victory for Nigeria’s democracy and for the rule of law,” he said in a statement.
The two opposition leaders have 21 days to file their appeal before the highest court in Africa’s most populous nation.
The 2007 election saw power transferred from one elected civilian to another for the first time in Nigeria’s coup-plagued history. But thugs stole and stuffed ballot boxes and harassed voters, and international observers said the election was flawed.
The election tribunal, however, requires proof not only that graft occurred but that it was widespread enough to affect the outcome.
