What Tribunal Did To PDP Candidates For Plateau Senate, Rep Seats Challenged By PRP And LP

What Tribunal Did To PDP Candidates For Plateau Senate, Rep Seats Challenged By PRP And LP

The National Assembly Elections Tribunal convened in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, has upheld the victories of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate seats.

The tribunal confirmed Musa Agah’s election as the representative for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency. The petitioner, Mohammed Gwani of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), was unable to substantiate allegations of electoral misconduct related to overvoting, as well as the nomination and sponsorship of the winning candidate.

Similarly, the petition filed by Gyang Zi of the Labour Party (LP) against Simon Mwadkwon of the PDP for the Plateau North Senatorial seat was dismissed due to a lack of merit.

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The tribunal evaluated two key issues in both petitions: whether the PDP candidates were eligible to contest the elections on February 25, 2023, and whether the elections were conducted in substantial accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

In its unanimous decisions on both petitions, the tribunal ruled that only party members or the party itself possessed the standing to challenge a candidate’s nomination and sponsorship. Additionally, issues related to the nomination and sponsorship of party candidates fall under pre-election matters.

Regarding the allegation of overvoting, the tribunal agreed that the petitioners failed to establish the accuracy or falsehood of the election results. The witnesses presented by the petitioners had no direct connection to the elections or any associated documentation, which required the presentation of the voters’ register for proper validation.

Consequently, the tribunal dismissed both petitions for lacking merit, without any associated costs.