Nigerian High Court directs INEC to paste, transmit results online during Saturday elections

AFederal High Court, sitting in Abuja, on Friday, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit the Saturday governorship and House of Assembly’s election results in accordance with Electoral Act 2022.

This was stated in a judgement delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, ordering the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) immediately after the completion of all the polling units voting and results’ procedures in Akwa Ibom.

After completing the EC8A result sheets in the state, the judge ordered the commission to prominently display the publication of its result posters EC60 (E) at polling units.

He also directed INEC to enforce the observance and compliance of Section 27(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 in the distribution of electoral materials during the conduct of polls in the state by engaging the services of independent, competent, and dependable logistic companies that are not partisans or known supporters of any political party for the distribution of electoral materials and personnel.

Since the electoral umpire averred in its filed affidavit that it was aware of its responsibilities under the law and had not failed to carry them out, Egwuatu held that granting the applicants' prayers would not harm the commission but would instead energise its performance.

He issued the ruling in response to a suit filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its Akwa Ibom governorship candidate, Uduakobong Udoh, as well as 13 state House of Assembly candidates for the March 18 elections.

Remember that the applicants sued INEC as the sole defendant in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/334/2023, which was dated and filed on March 15 by their lawyer, Moses Usoh-Abia.

The applicants, who sought seven reliefs, asked the court for a mandamus order compelling INEC and all its agents to comply with and enforce Clause 37 of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Governorship and House of Assembly Elections in Akwa Ibom on Saturday.

They also asked the court to order the presiding officers of all polling units to prominently display the publication of result posters EC460(E) after completing the EC8A result sheets.

They sought a mandamus order compelling the commission to require the presiding officers of all polling units in the state to electronically transmit or transfer polling unit results directly to the collation system and use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to upload a scanned copy of the EC8A to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) immediately after all polling unit voting and results procedures were completed.

They claimed that this was in accordance with the provisions of Clause 38 of the polling guidelines.

The applicants also sought an order directing INEC to enforce the observance and compliance of Section 27(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 in the distribution of electoral materials during the conduct of the polls by enlisting the services of independent, competent, and dependable logistic companies that are non-partisans or known supporters of any political party for the distribution of electoral materials and personnel, among other reliefs.

Following an ex-parte motion filed by Usoh-Abia, Justice Egwuatu granted the applicants leave to proceed with a judicial review, filed the necessary motion, and put INEC on notice on Wednesday.

Upon resumed hearing on the matter on Friday, Usoh-Abia informed that he had complied with the earlier court order and that their motion was served on INEC same Wednesday.

The lawyer said despite the service of their process, the commission was not represented in court.

The judge, on the other hand, stated that he found INEC's counter-affidavit and a preliminary objection to their originating summons in the court file.

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 tomorrow’s election in Akwa Ibom.