Ballots should determine election winners, not courts - Jonathan

Immediate past president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has advocated for the strengthening of the nation’s electoral laws in a way that only the ballot paper, and not the courts, is allowed to determine the winners of elections.

The former President stressed that the standard practice is that the electoral management bodies exercise the sole responsibility of returning candidates and declaring winners while the judiciary complements by either upholding declared results or nullifying flawed elections and ordering a rerun.

He made this assertion on Monday while interacting with newsmen during a a visit to TOSTV Network studios in Abuja.

Jonathan said: “I had already made a public statement on that to the effect that the ballot paper and not the judiciary should determine who wins elections or select political leaders. The ballot paper should be the only basis for selecting political leaders.”

Several cases involving electoral contests between parties in Nigeria in the past have been eventually decided by the courts despite of the outcomes of such elections.

A perfect instance played out in Imo State where the Supreme Court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor of Imo State.

The apex court then declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 9, 2020 governorship election in the state.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jonathan further noted that countries that conduct free and fair elections experience fewer election-related litigations while numerous court cases following elections are the hallmark of fragile democracies.

“I have said this before and I will always repeat it. I am not saying the judiciary is not doing well. But my point is that our laws should suppress the issue of the judiciary returning candidates. If a candidate is declared the winner after a flawed electoral process, what the courts can do is to annul the election and order a fresh one, where a winner will finally emerge through the ballot. The ballot paper should decide who holds any elective office from the councillorship to the presidency. That is a democracy,” he added.