The Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed on Wednesday the petition presented by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, contesting Senator Monday Okpebholo’s electoral victory following the governorship election held on September 21, 2024, in Edo.
Justice Wilfred Kpochi, a Tribunal’s three-person panel member, delivered a unanimous ruling, highlighting that the petitioners failed to substantiate their claims regarding over-voting and breaches of electoral regulations.
The PDP and Ighodalo had taken legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the governor, and others because INEC had declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election, alleging that the process was fraught with inconsistencies.
In September 2024, the INEC officially declared Monday Okpebholo the winner of the governorship election that took place on September 21, 2024. With a total of 291,667 votes, Okpebholo surpasses his nearest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, who received 247,274 votes.
Unsatisfied with the election results, the PDP and its candidate sought redress from the Tribunal, maintaining that the governor did not secure a legitimate majority of the valid votes cast.
The PDP and its candidate requested the Tribunal annul INEC’s declaration that recognised the APC and Okpebholo as election victors, pointing to supposed violations of the Electoral Act, 2022, particularly concerning counting votes.
According to a report from NAN, the petitioners also summoned INEC to present the BVAS machines used in 133 polling units where they disputed the election results.
The tribunal ultimately admitted around 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System Machines (BVAS) used during the governorship election as evidence. However, the legal representatives of the APC and Okpebholo urged the tribunal to dismiss the petitions, contending that they lacked substance and merit.
They argued that the petitioners had not adequately demonstrated their claims of an “invalid” election in their submissions.
In delivering the ruling on the petition by the PDP and its candidate, Justice Wilfred Kpochi ruled that rather than the opposite, it is the petitioner’s responsibility to prove allegations of electoral misconduct against INEC.
The petitioners claimed that the votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters in disputed polling units, but the judge concurred with the defendants, stating that the petitioners did not provide polling unit agents or presiding officers to validate this assertion.
The judge also criticised the PDP for submitting the BVAS machines to the tribunal without calling qualified witnesses to operate them and demonstrate their claims of over-voting. As a result, the tribunal “rejected the petitioners’ petition” due to their failure to substantiate their case against the governor’s election.
The Tribunal dismissed and struck down petitions filed by the Action Alliance (AA) and Accord Party regarding the Edo governorship election, citing lack of jurisdiction and vagueness.
