TheCable

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit the results of the governorship and house of assembly elections in Akwa Ibom state electronically.

 The governorship and state assembly elections are scheduled to hold on March 18.

Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge ordered the commission to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation  System  (BVAS) to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC result viewing portal (IReV), immediately after the completion of all the polling units voting and results’ procedures in the state.

The judge also directed the commission to conspicuously paste its result posters EC60(E) at polling units after completing the EC8A result sheets.

He equally ordered INEC to enforce the provision of section 27(1) of the electoral act, 2022 in the distribution of electoral materials and personnel in the state by engaging the services of “independent, competent, and reliable logistic companies” who are non-partisans or known supporters of any political party.

Egwuatu made the orders while ruling on a motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/334/2023 filed by the Labour Party (LP) and Uduakobong Udoh, its governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, and 13 state house of assembly candidates.

Moses Usoh-Abia, counsel to the applicants, urged the court to direct INEC to comply with its regulations and guidelines of clauses 37 and 38 on the conduct of the elections.

He said the order was necessary because the commission, in the presidential and national assembly polls, failed to transmit the results in the state and across the country.

He argued that INEC created the regulations and guidelines pursuant to sections 148 and 60(5) of the electoral act, to guide the conduct of elections and collating of results.

Usoh-Abia said INEC’s refusal to comply with the law had resulted in serious prejudice and had foisted uncertainty and frustration on his clients at their various polling units and wards.

The lawyer said if the order was not granted, the same scenario would repeat itself in Saturday’s poll.

Delivering judgment, Justice Egwuatu said he was satisfied that the applicants had complied with the practice direction rules in the filing of their application.

He also said that he was satisfied that a cause of action had been established against INEC in the paragraphs of the applicants’ process.

The judge, therefore, ordered INEC to direct all its presiding officers to comply with clauses 37 and 38 of its regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the elections in Akwa Ibom.

He held that the commission had the legal duty to act in accordance with the law.