The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been ordered by the Federal High Court in Lagos to electronically and directly upload the results of the upcoming governorship and state House of Assembly elections in Lagos State from the polling places to the IReV.
The Labour Party and 41 other parties had sued, seeking a mandamus order to compel INEC to follow the Electoral Act and its rules for the conduct of the elections. Justice Peter Lifu issued the order in his judgment on the case.
The judge determined that because the lawsuit was filed in accordance with the law’s provisions, the court had the authority to hear it.
He also held that the subject matter of the suit was not a pre-election issue because the reliefs sought by the applicants deal with preparation for elections and not the conduct of the elections.
Justice Lifu further stated that all that the applicants were trying to do was to compel the electoral body to comply with the Constitution, its regulations, and guidelines, following its failure to do so during the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25.
Therefore the court granted the applicants “an order of mandamus directing and compelling the defendant and all its agents and their privies or any persons acting under their directions to comply with and enforce the provision of Clause 37 of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022 for the conduct of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos State on 11 March 2023, to wit: Mandating the Presiding Officer of all Polling Units to paste the Publication of Result Poster EC60(E) at the Polling Units conspicuously after completing the EC8A result sheet.”
