The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin on Thursday threw out the petition of Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and affirmed the election of Senator Neda Imasuen, as the Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District.
Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his party, had through suit no EPT/ED/SEN/03/2023 approached the tribunal to challenge Imasuen’s victory in the February 25 election.
The petitioners prayed the tribunal for the nullification of Imasuen’s victory for alleged non qualification, over-voting, corrupt practice, non-compliance with the electoral act by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the nomination of the 1st respondent by the LP
The three-member panel led by Justice Yusuf Ubale Mohammed, dismissed the petition for lack of merit and incompetence who read the over three hours judgement, said the petitioners failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Imasuen was not qualified to participate in the election.
The tribunal held that the allegations of non qualification, party nomination or sponsorship for an election are pre-election matters that can only be entertained by a Federal High Court.
He added that Iduoriyekemwen and his party PDP also failed to prove that the senator did not score the majority of valid votes in the election.
Justice Mohammed, further held that the petitioners were unable to prove the case of non-compliance with the electoral act and irregularities mentioned during the election. Reacting to the court verdict, Senator Imasuen while dedicating the court victory to the people of Edo commended the tribunal for its courage to interpret the law as it should be and for also standing for the truth of justice.
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