Judicial Board places injunction on Sey JCR elections

The Judicial Board of the Elizabeth Frances Sey Junior Common Room has, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, granted an injunction on the ongoing 2020 electioneering processes of the JCR.

This is to allow the board to hear and make a determination on a case brought to it by Mr. Wisdom Ndukwe, an aspirant in the 2020 elections whose dramatic exit from the race has surprised many.

The injunction was granted on 3 merits:

i) That there is a serious matter to be decided in the substantive case which is whether or not the Electoral Commission exercised its discretionary powers fairly in declining to accept Mr. Ndukwe’s nomination form given the circumstances and whether or not Mr. Ndukwe’s right to be voted for has been infringed.

ii) That Mr.Ndukwe’s right to be voted for as stated in Article 4 of the ELIZABETH FRANCES SEY HALL and also a human right could be infringed and he may suffer irreplaceable damage which cannot be remedied by the award of damages.

iii) That based on the balance of convenience, the Electoral Commission will not be greatly disadvantaged if an injunction is granted on the electoral process. On the other hand, Mr. Ndukwe will be gravely disadvantaged as he stands the chance of his case becoming moot.

For the reasons stated above, the Judicial Board of the Elizabeth Frances Sey Hall orders the Electoral Commission to put a halt to its electoral activities for the 2019/2020 Academic Year until the substantive case has been heard and judgment delivered.

The substantive case is scheduled to be heard at 7pm, Wednesday, March 5, 2020.