Labour Party Heads to Supreme Court to Challenge Imo Governorship Election Results

The leadership of Nigeria’s Labour Party has decided to take its case to the Supreme Court, seeking the nullification of the November 11 Imo Governorship poll. The party’s appeal for a fresh election was previously thrown out by the Appeal Court, prompting the Labour Party’s national publicity secretary, Obiora Ifoh, to express disappointment and frustration.

Ifoh made this announcement at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, citing perceived bias in the judgments despite presenting evidence to support their claim of over-voting in the election that returned Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to office.

According to Ifoh, the Labour Party had made formal requests to review the over 4,000 Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, which were essential to proving their case of electoral malpractice. However, the petitioners encountered deliberate delays and obstructions, resulting in only 30 BVAS units being released for inspection, effectively frustrating their case.

Ifoh urged the Supreme Court to act decisively and uphold the electoral laws, stating that given the clear evidence of over-voting, the court should cancel the flawed election and mandate a fresh governorship election in Imo state. This, he believed, was essential to restore public trust and uphold the integrity of the judicial system.

The issue at hand is clear, Ifoh emphasized. The total number of certified accredited voters for the November 2023 governorship election was just over 500,000, while the total votes counted, which was used to declare the APC winner, exceeded 700,000, resulting in an over-voting discrepancy of more than 200,000.

The Labour Party had raised this issue during the election, providing evidence of abuse of electoral practices, including falsification and mutilation of result sheets, harassment of Labour Party agents, snatching of ballot boxes, and open vote buying. Section 53 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that any election marred by over-voting should be cancelled.

Ifoh lamented that despite the overwhelming evidence of over-voting, both the election tribunal and the appeal court failed to apply this clear legal standard, likening the situation to the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in 2020, where a similar issue of over-voting was overlooked, leading to the installation of a candidate who had initially placed third.

The Labour Party’s decision to seek the Supreme Court’s intervention is seen as a last resort to ensure a fair and credible electoral process in Imo state. The party’s leadership believes that the nullification of the flawed election is crucial to restoring public trust in the electoral system and upholding the integrity of the judiciary.