Nigeria’s Labour Party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi intends to launch a legal challenge against the voting results that declared Bola Tinubu as the new president-elect, the party’s vice presidential candidate said on Wednesday, reported Africa News.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official results, Tinubu came out top in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states. As per the results, Tinubu secured 37% of the vote, or nearly 8.8 million, while the main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 29% with almost 7 million. Labour Party’s Peter Obi finished in third place with 25% of the vote, almost 6.1 million.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed pointed out instances of violence and voter intimidation saying the election was conducted in clear violation of agreed and promised INEC rules and guidelines.
“It is our position that the purported result did not meet the minimum criteria of a transparent, free and fair election,” Baba-Ahmed said. “In addition to the most condemnable attacks, voter intimidation and suppression, the election was conducted in clear violation of agreed and promised INEC rules and guidelines.”
He claims that it is a case of stolen mandate and it will be recovered. He made an appeal to Nigerians to remain peaceful and patient while the party seeks legal action on the recently held election in the country.
Notably, Nigeria’s opposition political parties have rejected the voting results as the product of a flawed process, which suffered multiple technical difficulties owing to the introduction of new technology by INEC. The ruling party, on the other hand, has urged the opposition to accept defeat and not cause trouble.
The parties now have three weeks’ time to appeal the results. Notably, an election can be declared invalidate only if the electoral body is found to act against the law and in ways that could have altered the results.
