The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) has criticized the judgment delivered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu. They argue that this judgment undermines the progress made with the passage of the Electoral Act of 2022.
In a statement released on Friday, Situation Room expressed its concern after closely observing the tribunal’s judgment on the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
Situation Room emphasized that, “As a group with significant years of knowledge and experience in elections, both in the field and in the policy space, we are concerned that the judgment may have raised questions regarding the progress made with the passage of the Electoral Act 2022. This act introduced technological reforms and required INEC to issue guidelines for elections and implement them.”
The group recalled that the 2022 Electoral Act received acclaim from stakeholders as a milestone achievement and progressive legislation, largely due to its incorporation of unprecedented technological innovations into the electoral legal framework. Many believed that these provisions would enhance transparency in the electoral process.
According to the group, “Notable among these innovations are the INEC Results Viewing portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation system (BVAS), described as game-changers that would ensure transparency and the smooth management of elections. Importantly, the Electoral Act 2022 included safeguards indicating the need for INEC to be innovative in developing procedures to reduce the influence of human factors in election conduct.”
“It appears that these innovative reforms may now face challenges as the Tribunal has allowed INEC to exercise its discretionary powers in their implementation. This development is indeed worrisome for our electoral system. While some discretion may be necessary for flexibility in election administration, it is vital to have accountability mechanisms in place to prevent arbitrariness. Citizens look to the Judiciary to serve as a check on this discretionary power to ensure that administrative decisions are implemented transparently and in the public interest.”
The statement also emphasized that public funds were allocated by the National Assembly to invest in these technological innovations, which were developed and publicized by INEC.
Situation Room acknowledges that it is the right of the contesting political parties to further dispute or accept the Tribunal’s judgment on the elections and will closely monitor developments regarding further actions by the involved political parties.
Situation Room will continue to closely monitor how litigation surrounding the general elections evolves, especially at the Supreme Court level, and will pursue further legislative advocacy to ensure that INEC is mandated to implement reforms passed by Nigeria’s Legislature.