The Labour Party has approached the Supreme Court to seek the nullification of the November 11 Imo Governorship election, alleging over-voting and bias in the judgments of the lower courts. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.
Ifoh argued that despite presenting evidence of over-voting, the party’s appeal for a fresh election was thrown out by the appeal court. He claimed that the total number of voters did not match the figures reeled out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the election.
“The issue at hand is clear. The total number of certified accredited voters for the November 2023 governorship election, as certified by INEC, was just over 500,000. However, the total votes counted, which was used to declare the candidate of APC winner exceeded 700,000, resulting in an over-voting discrepancy of more than 200,000,” Ifoh said.
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He added that the party had raised issues of electoral malpractice, including falsification and mutilation of result sheets, harassment of Labour Party agents, snatching of ballot boxes, and open vote buying. Ifoh noted that Section 53 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that any election marred by over-voting should be cancelled.
“We had raised this issue during the election as we had clear evidence of abuse of electoral practices… Regrettably, despite the overwhelming evidence of over-voting, both the election tribunal and the appeal court failed to apply this clear legal standard,” he said.
Ifoh expressed hope that the Supreme Court would act decisively and uphold the electoral laws, cancel the flawed election, and mandate a fresh governorship election in Imo state. He stressed that this action is essential to restore public trust and uphold the integrity of the judicial system.
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