The Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin has granted a motion ex parte to the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to inspect all the materials used in the conduct of the September 28 governorship election in the state.
The three-man panel of judges led by Justice A. T. Badamasi, on Tuesday, granted the PDP and its candidate the motion to inspect the electoral materials.
Other members of the panel are Justice E. A. Adesodun and Justice Khadi Usman.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, the winner of the poll.
Counsel for the PDP, Kingsley Obamogie, explained that the application to assess the materials was in line with Section 151 of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.
Obamogie also noted that the section empowered the party to institute a motion ex parte to pray the tribunal to inspect all the electoral materials used for the September 28 poll.
After studying the motion, the tribunal ordered INEC to make available all the electoral materials used for the poll.
It was gathered that the tribunal had yet to receive any petition from any of the other aggrieved political parties and their respective candidates.
According to the Electoral Act, the aggrieved parties and candidates have 21 days – from the day the election was held – to file their petitions.
(Punch)
