A new amendment to the Electoral Act precluded the possibility of voters challenging credentials submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by candidates, Punch is reporting.
The proposed law, if signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, will allow only those who participated in the party primary to challenge in court, the school certificates, the birth certificate and other credentials of a co-contestant.
Currently, Section 31(5) of the Electoral Act reads, “Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by a candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false may file a suit at the Federal High Court, High Court of a State or the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) against such a person seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false.”
However, the new amendment reads, “Any aspirant who participated in the primaries of his political party who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by his political party’s candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate in relation to his constitutional requirements to contest the election is false, may file a suit at the Federal High Court against that candidate seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false.”
Currently, all Nigerians are allowed to challenge the credentials of candidates of any political party. This has been reaffirmed by several court judgments.
Should this new amendment to the Electoral Act be signed into law, it will be a different ball game.
