A match of nigerian opposition filed a petition with the Court of Appeals against the ruling party over its candidate’s victory in last month’s presidential election, according to court documents seen by the news agency. PA on Tuesday.
peter obithe Labor Party candidate, who finished third in last month’s presidential race, is asking the court to declare him the winner and annul the victory of Tinubu Ball. He argued that the ruling party’s candidate was not qualified to run because he did not meet the minimum educational requirement, according to Labor Party spokesman Yunusa Tanko.
“The (ruling party) candidate did not even reach the minimum threshold to participate in the election that has to do with the presentation of his primary school certificate,” Yunusa told PA. “Our prayers are for the disqualification of Tinubu and the announcement of our candidate as the winner of the February 25 elections.”
He also said the party would seek to prove in court that Obi won the most votes in the election.
Last month, the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria stated winner to Tinubu with 37% of the votesbeating out the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who won 29 percent.
Obi finished third with 25% in what is usually a two-horse race. Abubakar’s party said he would file a separate petition that also seeks to overturn Tinubu’s victory.
“If the process had many flaws as we now know, what will it say about the result? We should care more about faulty processsaid Paul Ibe, a spokesman for Abubakar.
The Nigerian electoral law says that an election can be invalidated only if the electoral management body is proven to have largely failed to comply with the law and acted in a way that could have changed the outcome. None of the Nigerian presidential election results have been overturned by the Supreme Court. Still, the lawyers say the latest court challenge is unique, citing new legal provisions that introduced the use of technology during elections. The electoral body did not comply with the new requirements, Tanko said.
Obi’s petition marks the beginning of a legal challenge to Tinubu’s victory and his party is expected to gather evidence in the coming months. In general, It’s a long process and it took seven months in 2019 when the courts rejected a similar challenge.
The petition comes on the heels of the country’s gubernatorial election, where the ruling party retained most states, winning 15, including the commercial hub of Lagos. The main opposition party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, won eight states.
(With information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com