Accountable Democracy

Supreme Court dismisses Adeleke, PDP's Appeal, Affirms Oyetola's Election

( Source: Punch Newspapers)

Commentary

In an earlier blog( see below)

I made some whispers

Now the judgement is out

And we can shout it on the roof top

Sadly, it appears the case was decided on technical grounds

And some of the substantive questions not necessarily answered

So we wait for another day

But now we can make some propositions

Statistical calculation is tied to the notion of "valid votes"

Or how do we determine the "highest valid votes" except by calling evidence?

If some votes are truly invalid(e.g. multiple voting, void,etc), then the Tribunal can make the declaration in Sec 140(3)

However, where there are no votes at all- as a result of outright cancellation in some units

It is frightening if the tribunal will infer a winner from purely subtracting and adding

Calling for a re-run might be appropriate for those units

Otherwise, the role of the voters will be usurped and the 3 judges turned into "multiple voters"

Exercising a franchise that is not theirs in the first place

We hope we can have more of these juridical questions treated by our courts

Then our electoral laws will be the better for them.

Sub-judice, lawyers will say

That is, the issues are already before a competent court

However, we can make some whispers

Sec 140(3) Electoral Act gives the Tribunal the power

to declare the candidate who truly score the highest valid votes elected

But does this allows for judicial statistical inference?

And Paragraph 31 of the Election Guidelines

empowers the Presiding Officer to make report of cancellation of votes

But where such is not done

Can a superior officer to whom the report is made(i.e the State's returning officer)

validly exercise such power?

Soon, this whispers will turn to pronouncement from the courts