PEPT judgement: 25% of FCT votes not needed to win Presidential election
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja is preparing to deliver its judgement on three petitions seeking to nullify President Bola Tinubu‘s election.
The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel has called on all parties to adopt their final arguments.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential election, held on February 25, where he defeated 17 other candidates.
However, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi who placed second and third, respectively, have challenged the results.
Both Atiku and Obi claim they won the presidential election and question Tinubu’s eligibility to contest.
They argue that Tinubu did not secure the majority of lawful votes and request that his Certificate of Return be revoked.
They also propose a fresh election, excluding Tinubu, claiming he was never qualified to participate.
Atiku, in particular, has brought up issues concerning Tinubu’s birth date, education, state of origin, and dual citizenship with Guinea.
He further argues that Tinubu’s degree certificate from Chicago State University actually belongs to a woman.
Obi and the LP have also contested Tinubu’s eligibility, citing a prior indictment and fine from a US District Court for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking. They accuse INEC of breaching its own regulations and guidelines.
If their petitions are successful, the challengers hope that Tinubu’s votes will be disregarded due to his disqualification and that Obi, who they believe met all constitutional requirements, will be declared the winner.
Alternatively, they request a new election in which Tinubu, his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and the APC would be ineligible to participate.
While five petitions were initially filed, two parties, the Action Alliance (AA) and the Action Peoples Party (APP), have withdrawn their cases.
The remaining petition from the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) argues that the withdrawal of Tinubu’s initial Vice-Presidential candidate invalidated his candidacy. This case is also awaiting judgment.
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