Kehinde Fajobi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will begin calling its witnesses on Thursday before the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
This comes after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, closed their case on Monday.
Ighodalo and the PDP are challenging INEC’s declaration of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
They allege that the commission declared the wrong winner and are seeking the nullification of the result.
INEC’s official results show Okpebholo won with 291,667 votes, while Ighodalo polled 247,655 votes.
However, the petitioners claim the election was riddled with irregularities, including overvoting and the collation of incorrect figures.
Some of their witnesses testified that they refused to sign the result sheets at their wards and polling units due to these alleged discrepancies.
At the tribunal’s sitting, INEC’s lead counsel, Abdullahi Aliyu (SAN), said the commission had five witnesses lined up for its defence.
He requested an adjournment until Thursday, stating that many of the witnesses were travelling from Benin, Edo State.
INEC also submitted certified true copies of the Form EC8D result, the declaration of the election outcome, and its 2022 Regulations & Guidelines for conducting elections.
Neither the petitioners nor the second and third respondents, Okpebholo and the APC, objected to the documents, which the tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, admitted as Exhibits R-1, R-2, and R-3.