The Missing Brackets and the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election Tribunal
The 2023 Nigeria Election was an incredible event where a minor candidate with a tiny party rode on social media support to getting almost the same number of votes as the ruling party and the former ruling party. The election just ended, and the vote is very close between all parties: Peter Obi Labour Party: 6.1 million votes Atiku Abubakar PDP Party: 6.9 million votes Bola Tinubu APC Party: 8.7million votes The Labour Party and Peter Obi filed a case at the election tribunal challenging the outcome of the election, and there is a very interesting provision that rests on how you interprete the boolean logic of the constitution. Here is the problem: Nigeria has 36 states and one Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The FCT is not a state like the others - it’s managed by the federal government and acts as the capital. It does not have a Governor, it has a minister that is appointed by the federal government. There is a clause in the constitution : 137 (2) (b) A candidate fo...