LEGAL PRINCIPLE: ELECTION LAW — Parties to Election Petition — Unsuccessful Candidate — Whether an Unsuccessful Candidate Can Be Joined as Respondent to an Election Petition
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Section 133 of the Electoral Act does not require an unsuccessful candidate or his political party to be joined as a respondent. As a matter of strict procedure, such persons are neither respondents nor necessary parties.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Uwaifo, JSC, in Buhari v. Yusuf (2003) NLC-1162003(SC) at pp. 19–20; Paras E–B.
"It is manifest that section 133 of the Act places no obligation on a petitioner(s) to make any candidate who lost an election or any political party, whether of a candidate elected or returned or of a candidate who lost or which may not have fielded any candidate for the particular seat, a respondent other than the statutory respondents envisaged under subsection (2) as identified in this judgment. As a matter of strict adherence to procedure, all such persons or Political Parties can neither be respondents nor are they necessary parties."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Unsuccessful candidates are not necessary parties to an election petition. The principle applies to election law. The statute specifies the required respondents. The rule prevents unnecessary joinder. The petitioner must follow the statutory requirements. The principle is well-established.