[ad_1]
The ruling on a petition filed by Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi is being deliberated by the Presidential Election Tribunal.
Obi contested President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
Abba Mohammed, a member of the five-member panel of Justices, delivered the judgement on preliminary objections raised by the respondents to Obi’s petition.
The key points from Justice Mohammed’s reading are as follows:
– The respondents contested that Obi’s petition only made general allegations of widespread irregularities without specifying the details and polling units involved.
– The petition mentioned fictitious results without identifying the affected polling units.
– The petition alleged overvoting and rigging without specifying the polling units where these occurred.
– According to Mohammed, the petitioners’ claims were generic and lacked specifics.
– The petitioners had promised to rely on spreadsheets, inspection reports, and forensic analysis filed with the petition during the trial, but these documents were not attached to the petition or served on the respondents.
– Mohammed also noted that Obi and the Labour Party failed to provide specific details of corrupt practices, vote suppression, entry of fictitious results, and other irregularities in their pleadings.
– The court dismissed the respondents’ objection challenging Obi’s Labour Party membership, stating that only the political party can determine its members, and no other entity has the authority to investigate this.
– The court also rejected the respondents’ objection criticizing the Labour Party’s petition for not including Atiku Abubakar, the runner-up in the election.
– Mohammed clarified that a petitioner is not obliged to include a candidate who lost the election in their petition, and the petitioner is only required to include the winning candidate, the winning party, and the election commission as parties to the petition.
[ad_2]
Source link
