BY: News Peddlers
The Federal High Court's Abuja Division ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday to electronically transmit the results of Saturday's governorship and house of assembly elections in accordance with its regulations and guidelines.
In a judgement, Justice Obiora Egwuatu also ordered the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) immediately after all polling units voting and results procedures in Akwa Ibom were completed.
After completing the EC8A result sheets in the state, the judge ordered the commission to prominently display the publication of its result posters EC60(E) at polling units.
He also directed INEC to enforce the observance and compliance of Section 27(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 in the distribution of electoral materials during the conduct of polls in the state by engaging the services of independent, competent, and dependable logistic companies that are not partisans or known supporters of any political party for the distribution of electoral materials and personnel.
Mr Egwuatu reasoned that because the electoral umpire stated in its filed affidavit that it was aware of its responsibilities under the law and had not failed to carry them out, granting the applicants' prayers would not harm the commission but rather energise its performance.
He issued the ruling in response to a suit filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its Akwa Ibom governorship candidate, Uduakobong Udoh, as well as 13 state House of Assembly candidates for the March 18 elections.
The applicants sued INEC as the sole defendant in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/334/2023, which was dated and filed on March 15 by their lawyer, Moses Usoh-Abia.
The applicants, who sought seven reliefs, asked the court for a mandamus order compelling INEC and all its agents to comply with and enforce Clause 37 of the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the governorship and house of assembly elections in Akwa Ibom on Saturday.
They also asked the court to order the presiding officers of all polling units to publicly display the publication of result posters EC460(E) after completing the EC8A result sheets.
They sought a mandamus order compelling the commission to require the presiding officers of all polling units in the state to electronically transmit or transfer polling unit results directly to the collation system and use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) immediately after all polling unit voting and results procedures were completed.
They claimed that this was in accordance with the provisions of Clause 38 of the election guidelines.
The applicants also sought an order directing INEC to enforce the observance and compliance of Section 27(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 in the distribution of electoral materials during the conduct of the polls by enlisting the services of independent, competent, and dependable logistic companies that are non-partisans or known supporters of any political party for the distribution of electoral materials and personnel, among other reliefs.
Following an ex-parte motion moved by Mr Usoh-Abia, Mr Egwuatu granted the applicants leave to proceed with a judicial review, filed the necessary motion, and put INEC on notice on Wednesday.
Mr Usoh-Abia informed the court on Friday that he had complied with the previous court order and that their motion had been served on INEC the same Wednesday.
Despite the service of their process, the commission was not represented in court, according to the lawyer.
The judge, on the other hand, stated that he found INEC's counter-affidavit and a preliminary objection to their originating summons in the court file.
He stated that the application was submitted on Thursday.
Mr Usoh-Abia responded that, while they had yet to be served by the commission, he was ready to proceed with the matter due to the urgency of the case.
He stated that the March 15 motion included a 26-paragraph affidavit and nine exhibits.
The lawyer urged the court to order the electoral umpire to follow the regulations and guidelines of Clauses 37 and 38 on election conduct.
He stated that the order was necessary because the commission failed to transmit results of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state and across the country.
He claimed that INEC established regulations and guidelines in accordance with Sections 148 and 60(5) of the Electoral Act of 2022 to guide the conduct of elections and the collation of election results, among other things.
Mr Usoh-Abia claimed that INEC's refusal to follow the law had caused serious prejudice, as well as uncertainty and frustration for his clients at their various polling units and wards.
If the order is not granted, the same scenario will play out in the election on Saturday, according to the lawyer.
However, INEC claimed in its preliminary objection that the suit was incompetent and that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it.
According to the commission, the applicants failed to establish a justifiable action against it.
It also stated that the applicants violated the practise direction by initiating the suit through originating summons.
In his decision, Mr Egwuatu stated that he was satisfied that the applicants had followed the practise direction rules in filing their application.
He also stated that he was satisfied that a cause of action against INEC had been established in the paragraphs of the applicants' process.
As a result, the judge ordered INEC to direct all of its presiding officers to follow Clauses 37 and 38 of its regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the election in Akwa Ibom tomorrow.
He believed that the commission had a legal obligation to follow the law.
However, the judge refused to grant any additional relief.
(NAN)