*As Commission is Joined in 600 Cases
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed that one of the political parties in the country has served the commission no fewer than seventy (70) court processes that have to do with nomination of candidates in the 2023 general elections in the last two weeks.
This was as he also lamented that the commission is currently facing 600 court cases that arose over the nomination of candidates for the 2023 general elections.
Yakubu disclosed this on Monday while speaking at the Capability Building organized by the Court of Appeal for Election Petition Tribunal members billed to adjudicate on election disputes for next year’s general elections.
He added that most of the cases seeking an order of court to compel INEC to accept their nominations were instituted after the closure of time allowed by law for nominations.
“We have studied the judgements of the Tribunals arising from both the 2019 General Election, the off-cycle Governorship elections and the bye-elections conducted so far. We identified areas where we need to do more to reduce litigations.
“As a result, we are witnessing increasingly less Court cases challenging the conduct of elections by the Commission. However, cases arising from the conduct of primaries for the nomination of candidates by political parties is on the increase.
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“So far, we have been joined in about 600 cases relating to the conduct of recent primaries and nomination of candidates by political parties for the 2023 General Election. Only two weeks ago, one political party served about 70 Court processes on the Commission in one day seeking to compel us to accept the nomination or substitution of its candidates long after the deadline provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election had elapsed. Some of the cases will go up to the Supreme Court.
“The implication is that we are still dealing with issues of nomination of candidates thereby eating into vital rime for preparation of and procurement of sensitive materials for the materials. It also means that the Courts will be dealing with the same issues long after the General Election,”he stated
Despite the enormity of the court cases, Yakubu assured that the electoral body would obey and abide by all valid court orders at all times.
“I wish to reassure the judiciary that the Commission will continue to abide by Court orders. However, strict adherence to stare decisis is critical for us as an Election Management Body.
He said that INEC has found that most politicians and political parties are litigation-happy, dragging the electoral body on frivolous issues.
“A situation where a trial Court sought to vary the judgement of the Supreme Court by ordering the Commission to issue a Certificate of Return in favour of a candidate whose emergence during the party’s primary election has been nullified by the apex Court (and affirmed by the same Court following an application for clarification) put the Commission in a difficult situation.
“The matter is currently being litigated again, possibly all the way back to the Supreme Court, thereby wasting the precious time of the Courts which are already inundated by even the most improbable cases by litigation-happy individuals and parties.
Yakubu said that the 2023 general elections would bring better experience into Nigeria’s political space, being the first to be conducted
after the repeal of the 2010 Electoral Act and the first since the advent of the 2022 new Electoral Act that gives legal backing to the use of technology in the conduct of elections in the country.
“The new Electoral Act contains eighty new provisions intended to improve our elections and address some of the lacunae in the repealed Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), provide legal backing to the technological innovations introduced by the Commission overtime and the extension of timelines for the nomination of candidates and for other electoral activities,”he said
“Similarly, the new Electoral Act confers exclusive jurisdiction to hear pre-election cases on the Federal High Court with regard to candidate nomination in order to reduce forum shopping by litigants, abuse of court process and reduction in the spate of conflicting judgements by courts of coordinate jurisdiction. We are reassured by the inspiring speech by My Lord the President of the Court of Appeal for the elaborate steps taken against conflicting judgement by Courts of coordinate jurisdiction.”
He further disclosed that,in the next four days, ten papers would be presented and discussed by eminent jurists, lawyers and election experts.
“There will also be an interactive, experience-sharing session on pertinent issues in the determination of election disputes presided over by the Honourable President of the Court of Appeal. I have no doubt that this workshop will enhance the understanding of INEC’s processes, especially the innovations introduced pursuant to the enactment of the Electoral Act 2022 which came into force on 25th February 2022.”
He,however,appealed to the Judiciary to always maintain their neutrality along with the commission for them not to disappoint Nigerians.
“My Lord the Chief Justice of Nigeria, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I wish you successful deliberations and God’s infinite wisdom and blessings.
“The job of the politician is intensely partisan. Our work (the judiciary and INEC) requires absolute neutrality. We will not disappoint Nigerians.”