In the last five general elections conducted in Nigeria, a total of 3,959 petitions were filed by the candidates and/or political parties challenging the outcome of the elections.
Election petitions have become a common phenomenon in Nigeria as seen in every election cycle. Candidates and/or political parties who participate in an election and are dissatisfied go to election tribunals/court to challenge the results of the election, presenting evidence that raises serious doubt about the integrity/credibility of the process.
Primary elections are not spared as we have also seen candidates head to court to challenge results or in some cases the entire process.
In 1999, Nigeria returned to civilian rule. The first election to mark the new democratic era was conducted on February 27, 1999. Since this election, five other general elections have been conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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The last five general elections (2003; 2007; 2011; 2015 and 2019 elections) have been marked by irregularities reflected in the number of petitions filed by candidates and/or political parties, challenging the credibility/results of these elections.
According to Section 137(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010, an election petition can be presented by a candidate in an election and/or a political party which participated in the election.
Candidates and parties have taken full advantage of the provisions of the Electoral Act, filing a total of 3,193 petitions in the general elections conducted between 2003 to 2015 according to data from Situation Room. In the 2019 general elections, 766 petitions were filed which brings the total number of petitions filed to date to 3,959.
In the general election cycles under review, the 2003 election had the lowest number of petitions and highest was in 2007. After 2007, the number of petitions filed in the next election (2011) dropped by 76.2%.
The petitions from the 2015 general elections further declined further to 611, but picked up again in 2019.
Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 stated the grounds for which an election may be questioned by a candidate and/or a political party which participated in the election. This, among others, include corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
During the 2007 general elections, which had the highest number of petitions filed so far in the country, election observers noted that the election fell short of the standards for credible, free and fair elections and judged it the worst in Nigeria’s post-independence, electoral history.
Dayo Benson, a political editor, speaking on the 2007 election described it as one of the most controversial and contentious elections ever conducted in the history of the country.
Samson Itodo stated that the 2007 election was trialed with high level of electoral malpractice which may have resulted in the high petitions filed after the results of the election.
The two elections after 2007 saw lower petitions, which could be attributed to the improvements made in the country’s electoral system and credibility of the elections.
After the 2015 elections, Attahiru Jega, the then chairman of INEC was recognised by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) for the conduct of the 2015 general elections which they noted as one of the most credible elections in Nigeria’s history. The trend of decline in election petitions continued with the 2015 general elections.
However, the 2019 general elections brought back the era of plenty of election petitions. Public comments and election observers’ reports about the election were far from the sentiments that followed the 2015 elections.
The Situation Room stated that the 2019 election was not credible citing logistic failures by the electoral Commission, interference by the military, widespread violence and voter suppression. They also noted that there was a high level of abuse of the process by INEC officials which negatively impacted the credibility of the election.
The European Union Election Observation Mission’s report on the 2019 elections noted that the election was marred with irregularities.
From the lens of the reports by the election observers and reactions of citizens, the 2019 election was highly flawed. The rise in the number of petitions filed by candidates and/or political parties who participated in the election is unsurprising.
A research conducted post the 2007 elections found that the higher the number of petitions filed in an election, the more that election is negatively perceived. This perception might hold true for the 2019 elections too. Other factors examined by the research is the relationship between election quality and the performance of the electoral commission.
The 2023 general elections is 388 days away from today, set to hold on Saturday, 18th February 2023, according to a statement by the INEC chairman. As the country prepares for the upcoming general election, INEC and other relevant stakeholders may have to do more by putting the right mechanisms in place and adopting best practices to ensure that the election is conducted in a credible and transparent manner which will build citizens, candidates and political parties trust in the electoral process and results/outcome of the election.
It is imperative that election petitions return to the trend of declines that was seen with the 2011 and 2015 elections and significant improvements which includes among other things the signing of the Electoral Bill and a deliberate commitment from INEC to conducting a free and more credible democratic election are needed to make sure that the election is accepted as credible.