INEC GAINS AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND COLLATED RESULTS - PDP

The Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Enugu State chapter, has disagreed with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on its decision to defer the publication of the final results and the declaration of Peter Mbah as the State governorship election winner.

The PDP also claimed that the commission was overreaching itself by suspending the declaration of an already collated result, claiming that INEC was incorrect to present the Abia and Enugu situations as the same.

This is stated in a statement made by the party in response to INEC's decision to suspend the collation of the State's gubernatorial election results.

The commission suspended the collation of gubernatorial elections in both Abia and Enugu on Monday in a statement, citing the need for a review of the polls in both states.

INEC stated that the elections in the two outstanding Local Government Areas of Nsukka and Nkanu East were being reviewed.

But, at a news conference in Enugu on Monday, the party stated that INEC combining the Abia and Enugu issues obviously demonstrated that it was messing things up or had not been adequately briefed.

It further stated that the commission had no authority at the time of the election to stop the pronouncement or declaration of the election winner, whom the party claimed was its candidate.

The PDP claimed that the returns from Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAS had been fully collated by the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, on March 19th, and that all that remained was for INEC to total the returns from both local governments and declare its candidate, Mbah.

Meanwhile, the party stated that the only alternative left to anyone dissatisfied with the election process is to go to a tribunal or court.

The statement read: "Putting the Abia and Enugu situations in one basket clearly shows that the national headquarters of INEC is mixing things up or has not been properly briefed. There is absolutely nothing like outstanding local governments as far as the collation process in Enugu State is concerned.

"Unlike the situation in Abia State, the results of the entire 17 LGAs of Enugu State, including those of Nkanu East and Nsukka LGAs, have been fully collated by the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, on Sunday the 19th of March. What remains for the INEC is to sum up the returns by the Local Government Returning Officers and declare our candidate, Dr. Mbah the governor-elect.

"That is why we are saying that INEC is overreaching itself; they have no powers at this stage to suspend the pronouncement or declaration of the winner of the election, which is our candidate.

"Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that where collation has been completed as in the present case of Enugu State, the duty of the collation officer, who collated the result is to announce the result and make a declaration. Therefore, having collated the results from Nsukka LGA and Nkanu East LGA, the statutory duty and legal responsibility of the State Returning Officer is simply to announce and declare the results, as INEC cannot, by law, suspend the declaration of result already collated."

"The position of the law is that a Returning Officer has no power to cancel any results at the stage of collation. The only option open to any person dissatisfied with the process is to resort to Section 130(1) of the Electoral Act, which vests the power to receive and adjudicate petitions complaining of an undue election or undue return in an election in the tribunal or court.

"As a matter of fact, we are dissatisfied with the result from Nsukka Local Government Area. We are dissatisfied with the results from Udenu, Isi-Uzo, Ezeagu, and more. But is not for us to take the laws into our hands or indulge in self-help. That is why we are ready to go and interrogate those results at the appropriate quarters because we can no longer complain as the collation has been completed.

"INEC cannot choose the ones you will collate to release the result and the ones you will collate and withhold the result", the PDP emphasised.

"We believe that the Returning Officer for Nkanu East Local Government Area has duly complied with the provision of Sections 64(4)(a)&(b) and Section 64(a) & (d) of the Electoral Act 2022.

"We consequently restate our position that the only option left to INEC acting through the State Returning Officer for the Enugu State Governorship Election under Section 64(8) of the Electoral Act 2022 is to announce the results and make a declaration of the winner of the election.

"We therefore call on INEC to immediately announce the summation of the 17 local governments it has already collated and declare Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mbah the winner of the March election", the PDP reiterated.

The PDP also raised concern that the INEC's unnecessary delay in announcing the outcome of the governorship race was already boiling the Enugu polity.

"We will continue to caution that INEC should not take the patience of the electorate and people of Enugu for granted. We know what it took us today to rein in their voluminous anger as it relates to the delay in the declaration of Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah as governor-elect and we are calling on the INEC to cease forthwith this foot- dragging and declare our candidate the duly elected candidate in the last election" the PDP stressed.

"The party also condemned what it described as desperate and hypocritical approach of the Labour Party to the elections."