By Ade Martins And Lucy Caulkett-
The Labour Party under Peter Obi is to challenge the result of the Nigerian elections, representatives of his party told journalists on Wednesday afternoon.
His challenge is to be jointly made with that of PDP presidential; candidate, Abubakar Atiku
Nigeria’s opposition candidates for the 2023 elections say they will challenge the results declaring the ruling party candidate the winner. The elections dubbed Nigeria 2023 Nigeria decides, is said not to have lived up to its slogan after widespread irregularities
Saturday’s election was marred by technical and criminal setbacks that saw voting delayed not only delayed by a day or more at some polling stations, but criminal activities that saw ballots snatched at various polling stations in an act of violence and breach of the democratic process. Those agents behind the criminal activities intended to distort to the true voice of Nigerians by so doing.
The Labour Party met with journalists and supporters Wednesday afternoon, hours after the electoral commission declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress party, as the winner of Saturday’s election.
Labour’s presidential candidate Peter Obi did not attend Wednesday’s meeting but his deputy told reporters he and Obi will challenge presidential results in court.
Yusuf Datti-Ahmed, Labour’s vice presidential candidate, also called on party members and supporters to be calm.
“Illegality has been performed and as far as we’re concerned,” he said. “Here is an incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is illegal and unconstitutional. We’re submitting our case to the court of law. It is for them to show again that level of confidence.”
Another major contender in the election, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, is also challenging the results. The PDP and Labour held a joint briefing Tuesday calling the result a sham hours before Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Tinubu winner.
The integrity of last weekend’s presidential election was marked by delays and many operational issues with the voting machines across the country, according to international observers. Reports of election violence, coercion and manipulation, added to the wide spredt mistrust in the integrity of the results.
Rotimi Olawale, a political analyst and co-founder of Youth Hub Africa, said there were various reasons for election issues.
“Some of the issues that we witnessed on Saturday are just plain logistics issues; INEC faced some challenges in that regard,” Olawale said. “Unfortunately, INEC over-promised and under-delivered. There were also in many places all kinds of attempts by different parties to thwart the electoral process. This also cast a shadow of doubt on the electoral process.”
The opposition political parties want a re-vote.
However, Olawale said that will only be possible if the evidence of manipulation presented by the parties is significant enough to have swayed the outcome.
“Are there infractions in this election? Yes, absolutely,” Olawale said. “The court is going to be looking at themselves and saying, ‘If we take into consideration the infractions, are they enough to perhaps change who would have won the election?’
“If they can prove beyond reasonable doubt that there were widespread violence, suppression and the number of votes or polling units involved is enough to change the fortunes of the election, then perhaps the court will overrule the election.”
Federal Lawmaker Endorses Court Challenge
A federal lawmaker, Farah Dagogo of Rivers state, also urged Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to challenge the outcome of the 2023 Nigeria presidential election in court.
The lawmaker, who is a strong advocate of Atiku, said: “For the first time in a long while, Nigerians came out in their numbers, determined to vote and have a say in who will lead them out of the abyss and storm they had weathered for almost eight years.
“Regrettably, a few minorities have succeeded in altering the will and determination of the majority with unrestrained impunity. This election, if it could even be termed so, should rank as the worst in the history of elections in the country.
“This election lacks transparency and credibility, It was a sham and charade, which if allowed to stand, would have thwarted the resolve of the majority of Nigerians and set a bad precedence. I advise and strongly urge my party, PDP, and our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to challenge the outcome in court.
“Atiku has the support of the majority of Nigerians who voted for him and those votes ensured he won convincingly. By so doing, Atiku and the PDP will not only be on the front path of salvaging the progression of the country but also reclaim Atiku’s victory that was unfortunately upturned in the boardroom.
“I am of the conviction that the Temple of Justice will listen to the cries of Nigerians, who are seriously disenchanted and rightly livid, by using its gavel to administer justice thereby erasing this sad episode from our history.”
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, said a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja that they had begun preparations for the legal process, but did not provide details regarding when they would go to court.
Baba-Ahmed alleged that the electoral umpire violated its own laws, and lamented “widespread technological problems and manipulation of results”.
He said: “We are immensely grateful to the youth, ‘Obidients’ and all support groups, including Nigerians in diaspora for their sacrifices, conduct and commitment to a better Nigeria.
“It is our position that the purported results did not meet the minimum criteria of a transparent, free and fair election.”
“As evident, the institutions of the state and leaders that were supposed to ensure the sanctity of the election again, and as in the past, collaborated to subvert the will of the good people of Nigeria.
“Please be assured of our determination to fight the injustice that has been perpetrated on Nigerians through all legal and peaceful means. While painful, we implore you all to please remain peaceful and calm as our fight on determination for a new Nigeria is just beginning.
“We equally encourage you all to continue with the campaigns and vote massively for Labour Party in the forthcoming governorship and state House of Assembly elections on March 11, 2023. Our principal, His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi will in due course speak to
Baba-Ahmed said: “In addition to the most condemnable attacks, violence, voter intimidation and suppression, the election was conducted in clear violation of agreed and promised INEC rules and guidelines, the Electoral Act 2002 as amended, and indeed the Nigerian Constitution.
James Cleverly on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said
”We note the position of opposition parties on the election outcome and the concerns expressed by observer missions and civil society about the organisation of the process, including delays and technical challenges. We encourage the authorities to examine all concerns carefully, take action to resolve outstanding issues and focus on delivering the will of the Nigerian people”.
Objectivity
In any event the court concludes there were enough irregularities to render the integrity of the election process compromised, it is unclear how it can objectively decide which party was the true victor of these controversial elections. This is where the downsides of a legal challenge to an election could rear its ugly head.
The elections were clearly compromised by the shameful criminal interferences to the normal process, in some sense calling for a solid precedence to be set as a future deterrence to such undermining of the democratic process. Exactly how to do so while maintaining justice is the challenge any judiciary taking up this process will face.
Worse of all is the established knowledge that even the judiciary is sometimes prone to corruption by unscrupulous politicians willing to hand out outrageously high figures of bribery from the country’s stolen money to have their way
Meanwhile, Tinubu, known as “Jagaban” or “leader of the warriors” by his supporters, is celebrating big. He fought military rule in Nigeria before escaping into exile and founding the country’s democracy in 1999. In this election, he ran on the slogan, “It’s my turn”—which critics said suggested a sense of entitlement.
In a televised acceptance speech, Tinubu called for reconciliation with his opponents. “I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together. It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build it together,” he said.
This election was seen as Nigeria’s most technologically sophisticated process, with INEC deploying an electronic voter accreditation system and results-viewing portal that would enhance transparency and accessibility.
However, many Nigerians felt disenfranchised from the process, and even the fact that Tinubu lost Lagos State, bustling city whose economic and structural progress he is credited with championing during his tenure as governor has been perceived to have been a smokescreen to conceal fraudulent practices that distorted the legitimate voice of Nigerians.
“This electronic transmission was significant because it is intended to go a long way in reducing rigging, which often happens at the point of collation,” Mark Amaza, who works for Yiaga Africa, a civil society organization based in Abuja, said.
That very infrastructure is believed to have bene compromised., its credibility of INEC hangs in the balance. “Nigerians had expectations of a free and fair process, of good faith from INEC. INEC hasn’t honored that,” said Agwuegbo.
Leena Koni Hoffmann, an Africa Associate Fellow at Chatham House London, told TIME that the technology failed to transmit results from the polling units, which was “a critical part of preventing the manipulation of the results and credibility of the outcome.”
E.U. observers said that poor planning and communication from INEC undermined trust in Nigeria’s democratic process, while Afrobarometer found that 78% of Nigerians said they had little or no trust in INEC. I
Both Abubakar and Obi have dismissed the election results and demanded a rerun. In his victory speech, Tinubu said that his rivals could rightfully challenge the results in court, but that the lapses in the election “were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the outcome of this election.”