The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the February 2023 presidential election cannot be cancelled due to the inability to monitor election results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
In response to appeals filed by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contesting the Presidential Elections Petitions Court (PEPC) decision upholding Bola Tinubu’s victory in February, Justice Inyang Okoro, the head of the five-member Supreme Court panel, rendered a decision.
He stated that it is obvious that the petition aiming to declare the election invalid due to noncompliance needs to be prepared to provide proof in addition to demonstrating how the noncompliance impacted the result of the election.
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He claims that the petitioner disregarded the obligations placed upon them to demonstrate the seriousness of their disobedience and its consequences.
According to Justice Okoro, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is empowered by the Electoral Act to choose the most effective procedure to employ during an election.
He went on to say that the election cannot be declared void because the results are not available on the IReV.
According to Justice Okoro, the petitioner had to present solid proof of the purported noncompliance. He claims that he has not presented the court with an original or certified true copy of the evidence they seek to be used.
According to him, the results of the presidential election were not impacted by their non-availability on the IReV Portal.
More information to come.
