Enugu Guber: Disregard call for another review, INEC urged

A pro-democracy and good governance advocacy organisation, the Enugu Good Governance Group, E-3G, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disregard calls by the Labour Party for another review of the outcome of the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State, saying it is a call for anarchy.

The group said having dutifully collated the results of the 17 local government areas and declared the winner, INEC had exhausted its constitutional powers and therefore urged the election management body to go ahead to present the Certificate of Return to the winner, Dr Peter Mbah, of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Addressing the press, the National Coordinator of the group, Odinaka Okechukwu, said: “The Enugu Good Governance Group is aware that the Enugu State chapter of the Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, have petitioned the INEC, calling on the election management body to: declare the March 18 governorship election as inconclusive; cancel votes in Nkanu East local government area; and withhold the issuance of Certificate of Return to any candidate until issues enumerated in their petition are resolved.

“However, we recall that the collation of the results of the 17 local government areas of Enugu State was completed as at 19th March. By the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the only other duty left for the State Returning Officer was to add up the figures, announce them, and declare the winner in line with Section 64 (8) of the Electoral Act 2022.

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“But upon the insistence of the Labour Party, INEC bent backwards to review the results before eventually declaring Dr Peter Mbah of the PDP the winner on 22nd March.

“Therefore, we see the latest calls by the Labour Party not only an attempt to convert the INEC to an Election Petition Tribunal but also a call for anarchy; and we condemn it in totality.

“All political actors, including the Enugu Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, must understand that election is a process guided by timelines and various constitutional powers vested in several institutions to ensure the sustenance of our democracy. Mounting pressure on one institution to overreach itself will never go well for the nation’s democracy”.

It said, despite reported issues, the 2023 Enugu governorship election “was comparatively and substantially free, fair, and credible”.

“We, therefore, call on the INEC to disregard the call for a further review of the declared result and go ahead to hand over the Certificate of Return to the declared winner. Doing otherwise will be going beyond INEC’s mandate and an invitation to possible anarchy,” it said.