INEC receives court order

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it has received the order of a Lagos Federal High Court stopping the re-run election earlier fixed for December 12, 2009.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Reverend John Dansu told Osun Mail that the electoral body will however ensure that the order is vacated on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 when the hearing on the case was fixed for.

He said, “For now, we have been stopped by court not to conduct the by-elections on December 12. We are trying to vacate the order of the court and if we succeed on Tuesday, then the election will go on as planned”.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had on Friday, December 3, 2009 granted leave to the Action Congress (AC) to apply for an order of mandamus compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to first embark on the review of the voter’s registration before conducting the December 12 rerun elections in Osun state.

INEC had fixed December 12 for both the rerun elections into the legislative seat of Osun East Senatorial District of the National Assembly and Osogbo Local Government seat in the state House of Assembly.

Both legislative seats became vacant when the Appeal court sitting in Ibadan voided the election of Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Honorable Akintunde Adegboye of the Action Congress (AC).   

Though the ex-perte application argued by AC’s lawyer, Femi Falana, was heard in the Chambers of the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Liman, it was however not certain whether the court granted the second leg of the application seeking the leave to operate as a stay of all actions pertaining to the forthcoming December 12 elections in the state, pending the final determination of the suit.

The court also ordered that the respondent be put on notice.

The verifying affidavit in support of the suit was deposed to by the state Scribe of the party, Prince Adegboyega Famodun.

According to the main suit, the applicant (AC) is seeking a declaration of the court that that the deliberate refusal, failure or neglect of the respondent to prepare, maintain and update on a continuous basis, the register of voters for the purpose of organizing and conducting the Osun East election as ordered by the court of Appeal in Ibadan on October 10 and the state House of Assembly re-run election ordered by the appellate court on November 2, is illegal and unconstitutional because the failure to update the voter’s register is in conflict with the Third Schedule, Part 1, Item F of the Constitution and Section 10 of the Electoral Act, 2006.

The applicant also wants a declaration that the refusal of INEC to issue the applicant with the revised and updated voters register for the Osun East Senatorial election in preparation for the election is illegal.

AC further prayed the court for an order of Mandamus compelling the respondent to issue it the revised and updated register of voters to be used in organizing and conducting the said elections.

The party predicated the suit on the ground that the respondent had failed to revise and update the voter’s register meant for the conduct of the said election as to enable person who have just attained the age of 18 years since 2007 when the last register was prepared, to be registered in accordance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2006  

The matter has been adjourned till Tuesday, December 15 for hearing.