The opposition’s request for the election tribunal to invalidate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election victory in February was denied.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), the party in power, was accused of electoral fraud in the contested elections in February, according to a decision made on Wednesday by Nigeria’s presidential election tribunal.
As the tribunal dismissed the opposition’s appeal to Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election, one of the judges called the petition “hereby declared unmeritorious.”
With 37 percent of the vote, former Lagos governor Tinubu defeated Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to win the presidency of the most populous country in Africa. The problems followed one of the nation’s most closely contested elections.
Using irregularities as justification, Abubakar and Obi had sought the court to void the election.
All of the allegations presented by Labour Party candidate Obi were dismissed by the judges, including allegations of fraud, that the election commission breached the law, and that Tinubu was ineligible to run.
A second opposition party petition, which is also anticipated to be dismissed, was also the subject of the court’s reading of its ruling. It brings up comparable grievances against the election results of February 25 and was filed by PDP candidate Abubakar.
Nigeria, which experienced electoral fraud in the past and returned to democracy in 1999 after nearly three decades of military rule, has never had a legal challenge to the results of a presidential election win.
To overturn the tribunal’s decision, Atiku and Obi may appeal to the nation’s Supreme Court. Following the date of the tribunal’s decision, any appeal must be resolved within 60 days.
Before Wednesday’s verdict, Tinubu’s administration had disputed every charge of impropriety and seemed assured. He is currently in India for the G20 conference where he seeks to attract international investment.
Even while it was in Tinubu’s favor, the tribunal’s decision was not anticipated to provide the president any special reason for jubilation or momentum in the wake of an election with a record-low turnout of only 29 percent.
Tinubu received the fewest votes of any president since the restoration of democracy, with only 8.79 million of the nation’s more than 200 million citizens, 87 million of whom were registered to vote.
In order to assure transparency, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) implemented biometric technologies as well as IReV, a central database for uploading results in real time.
Despite recognizing “glitches,” INEC refuted charges that the vote was not free and fair. However, detractors said that the technical issues and delays had created room for vote tampering.
The court decision comes as Nigerians battle growing living expenses following the government’s termination of a fuel subsidy scheme that reduced gasoline prices and devalued the naira.
Government authorities urge patience and provide cash to state governments to assist in mitigating the effects, claiming that the policies are necessary to revitalize the economy.
As a result of his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari’s poor economic performance, Tinubu inherited enormous unemployment, record debt, the highest inflation rate in twenty years, widespread insecurity, major oil theft, and record debt.
The government is also dealing with significant security issues, such as kidnapping gangs operating in other areas and armed organizations still engaged in a protracted conflict in the northeast.