The election was originally scheduled to be held on 2 April, but was later postponed to 4 April. A presidential election was held in Nigeria on 16 April 2011, postponed from 9 April 2011. The election follows controversy as to whether a Muslim or Christian should be allowed to become president given the tradition of rotating the top office between the religions and following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, who was a Muslim, and Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, assuming the interim presidency. Following the election widespread violence took place in the northern parts of the country. Goodluck Jonathan was declared the winner on 19 April. The elections was reported in the international media as having run smoothly with relatively little violence or voter fraud in contrast to previous elections, in particular the widely disputed 2007 election. The United States State Department said the election was "successful" and a "substantial improvement" over 2007, although it added that vote rigging and fraud also took place. 2015 elections The 2015 general elections was originally scheduled to hold 14 February, but was later postponed to 28 March{Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives} and 11 April 2015 {Governorship and state house of Assembly}. General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress emerged as the winner of the Presidential elections and was sworn in on 29 May 2015. The 2015 Election was a success because there were tensions everywhere concerning the difficult politics and the security environment of the country at that time. However, It was the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost an election. Goodluck Ebele Johnathan of the People's Democratic Party lost his seat to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress . 2019 elections Presidential and National Assembly Elections were scheduled for 16 February 2019, while State and Local government elections were scheduled for 2 March 2019. Elections were postponed by one week after INEC cited logistic challenges. The rescheduled dates are 23 February and 9 March 2019. President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected for another four-year term. The primary contender was former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Yele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC) and Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for a New Nigeria (ANN) were other popular candidates who are all relatively young. Late in 2018, these three parties alongside some others