The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room says the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) on the 2023 presidential election may erode the progress made in the use of technology in elections.
In a statement issued on Friday, jointly signed by the three co-conveners of the Situation Room: Y.Z Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju, the Situation Room said the verdict may present challenges for the innovative reforms achieved through the Electoral Act of 2022.
The PEPT had on Wednesday, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the petitions of Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Obi of the Labour Party.
The five-man panel ruled that the petitioners failed to prove the case of irregularities and other issues raised, and therefore, affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The panel ruled that the petitioners did not prove how they were affected by the failure of INEC to electronically transmit the result.
“The Electoral Act 2022 provided safeguards indicating the need for INEC to be innovative in developing procedures that will help eliminate the human element regarding the conduct of elections.
“It seems to us that these innovative reforms may now face challenges as the Tribunal has opened the implementation of these reforms to INEC’s human discretionary powers. This is indeed worrying for our electoral system”, the Situation Room stated.
