Edo governorship election tribunal to deliver judgment on PDP’s petition

The Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is set to deliver its judgment on Wednesday regarding the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

Ighodalo and the PDP are contesting the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared Sen. Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election.

The petitioners allege that the election was marred by irregularities and that the process did not meet the standards required by the Electoral Act.

The tribunal, consisting of a three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, reserved judgment on March 3 after the parties involved in the case presented their final written addresses.

The tribunal will now deliver judgment in the three petitions, which are marked EPT/ED/GOV/01/2024, EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, and EPT/ED/GOV/03/2024.

As part of the proceedings, the tribunal had, on January 31, admitted into evidence 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used during the disputed governorship poll.

These electronic devices, tendered by Anthony Itodo, a Senior Technical Officer from INEC’s ICT Department, were essential in supporting the petitioners’ claims that the election results from 133 polling units were disputed.

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The petitioners had subpoenaed INEC to provide the BVAS machines used in these specific polling units, where the election results were contested.

According to INEC’s declaration, Okpebholo of the APC won the election with a total of 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ighodalo of the PDP, who secured 247,655 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, the PDP and Ighodalo approached the tribunal, seeking to have the election results nullified.

They argue that the election was invalid due to alleged violations of the Electoral Act, 2022, and call for INEC’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner to be overturned.

On the other hand, the APC and Okpebholo have urged the tribunal to dismiss the petitions, describing the allegations as baseless and claiming that the petitioners have failed to substantiate their claims.

The outcome of the tribunal’s judgment will have significant implications for the political landscape in Edo State as both parties await a final resolution.