CSO Advocates Elimination of Judicial Technicalities from Post-election Petitions

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Human rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, (Intersociety) is advocating  the complete elimination of judicial technicalities from post-election dispensation of justice. 

The group is advocating a complete reformation of the Nigerian electoral court and voting process, including the detachment of electoral courts, their processes and procedures from those of regular courts. 

Addressing newsmen in Enugu State yesterday, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of group, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said that judicial technicalities have been found to be responsible for over 80 per cent of  “brutal judicial subversion of the electoral wishes of Nigerians. 

“The standard practices in developed and developing democratic countries’ Electoral courts are to fundamentally determine the field winners of the valid majority votes  cast from among the total lawful cast votes emanating from pulling centers,” he said.

He noted that the the reformation will also include the provision for independent candidacy from presidency and governorship to state and federal legislative seats. 

“It is also important to note that the time has come for general and codified use of electronic and manual voting side-by-side to ensure that citizens are not denied their constitutional rights of electing their leaders.