By Becky Usman

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reported a staggering tally of more than 1,000 pre-election legal disputes during the run-up to the 2023 general election.

Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, the Director of Legal Drafting and Clearance at INEC, revealed this during a presentation at a two-day capacity-building workshop for journalists held in Akwanga, Nasarawa State. The presentation was titled “The Impact of Litigation on INEC’s Preparations for the Governorship Elections in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa.”

Babalola explained that these pre-election legal challenges stemmed from issues related to political party primaries, candidate substitutions, and the failure of parties to adhere to their constitution and prescribed timetable for election conduct.

Pre-election litigation deals with matters where the cause of action arose prior to the actual election, as stipulated in Section 285(14) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Many of these cases emerged due to a lack of internal democracy within political parties, where they failed to follow their own internal rules and guidelines.

Babalola emphasized the unique nature of pre-election matters, underscoring how the judgments in these cases could significantly disrupt the planning, logistics, financing, and predictability for participants in the election process. Often, these judgments were delivered on the eve of the election, preventing INEC from conducting certain positions and necessitating the replacement of candidates after the printing of ballot papers, among other complications.

She noted, “Beyond the impact of pre-election disputes on election preparations, the commission is sometimes compelled to withdraw the certificates of return issued to a winning candidate and reissue a new certificate to the judgment creditor. After the 2019 general elections, the commission had to issue 94 certificates of return in pre-election cases.”

Babalola also disclosed that INEC had to retract seven Certificates of Return that had been previously issued and reissue them in compliance with court orders during the 2023 general election.