Is Election Petition A Necessity?
By Aliyu Mariam Maitasamu U17MM1128
In the last 5 general elections conducted in Nigeria, a total of 3959 petitions were filed by candidates or political parties challenging the outcome of the elections.
Election petition is sui generis, that is in a class of its own. Unlike other court matters, it has a duration of 180 days as provided by the Electoral Act, 2022, mainly because it has to do with governance in Nigeria. Election petitions have become a common phenomenon in Nigerian cycle where candidates who participated in an election and are dissatisfied, go to the election tribunal to challenge the result of the election by presenting evidence that raises serious doubts about the integrity and credibility of the process.
Petitioners hardly succeed because the standard of proof in election matters are usually strict and the burden of proof lies entirely on the petitioner. By the Electoral Act, 2022 the petitioner has 21 days to file their petition and within the 21 days they're expected to have gathered all their materials, witnesses, and evidence to prove their petition. The evidence and statements of witnesses are expected to be filed with the petition. Considering the stringent process, it is rare for a petitioner to win an election petition and in turn be declared as the winner of the election.
According to Vanguard newspaper, as of 2019 the success rate
of election petition was 10% which is very low and this is attributed to the
difficulties in proving electoral malpractice lack of substantial compliance.
At the end of the day the petitioner spends money on his/her legal team and
wastes time with no beneficial result. This culminated into my question: is
election petition a necessity?
Here's a video from a Channels Television curating the views of citizens on the issue of Election Petition
It does seem like election petition is pretty much useless, since of course no petitioner ever succeeds.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mix of opinions which is contradicting so its not just a variable say
ReplyDeleteSo in your opinion petitions are just pointless
ReplyDeletePetitions as a whole should just be cancelled
ReplyDeleteNot a necessity but it creates avenues to test the law... Like how will you know how deep the river without atleast dipping a stick in it. 😁
ReplyDeleteJust because chances of the petitioner winning the case is slim doesn’t mean the court will shut its ears. It is a necessity, since the law is unbiased therefore it must grant the right to fair hearing since it’s a fundamental right!
ReplyDeleteNot a necessity, because looking at the condition and term guiding it and also the chances of winning the petition we will see that its not meant for the petitioner to win but for the questioned government elect to prove fidelity to their misconduct in an election.
ReplyDeletePetitioners like any other aggrieved person in a civil suit, has a right of audience in court. Whether he wins or lose, is a matter of proof which is open to all parties involved. Besides petitions are the harvest for lawyers who may have toiled and planted for four years. The mouth God has created, He feeds it.
ReplyDeleteNice write up. However, despite enumerated failures highlited in the write up, election petition, other than resulting to self help provides agitators opportunities to explore the rule of law.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that the Petitioners hardly wins, the is rule is of law is been tested by given the Petitioners rights for fair hearing. Therefore, to my view I think Election Petition is a necessity.
ReplyDeleteAmazing write up 👏
ReplyDeleteI think it is a necessity also cause considering the stringent process it is rare for a petition to win an election and also be declared the winner of that election
ReplyDeletePetitions have so far caused the evolution of the Rule of Law in that area. Therefore, whether a Petitioner wins or not, the fact that the cases are in Court and the law is evolving with them, is a win already. Besides there are candidates that have won pre-election matters. A profound example was when Aisha Dahiru (Binani) was declared the Governorship candidate of the APC in Adamawa State by the Court of Appeal in a pre-election matter.
ReplyDeleteNicely written! That 10% success rate is also significant. The fact that it is hardly won doesn't mean it is never won.
ReplyDeletepetition is not a necessity
ReplyDeleteUntil there is total independence of both the Judiciary and electoral body from the executive, election petitions will continue to be a dead on arrival story
ReplyDelete