Imo North: Much ado about a senatorial bye-election
Published 21 December 2020
The Imo North Senatorial Bye-election has witnessed a lot of drama especially as it concerns who the candidate of the All Progressives Congress was. Various APC aspirants have taken to the courts to settle the dust raised by contentious primaries mired in controversies. Unfortunately, the courts instead of dousing the fire, seemed to have put more thongs in hearth. At the heart of the inferno are two conflicting court judgements that have left the Independent National Electoral Commission confused as to who to return as the senator-elect for the zone.
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SUNDAY ABORISADE
The National Assembly Joint Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission Matters has proposed a review of the provision in the Electoral Act which pegged the eligibility of a voter at 18 years.
The federal lawmakers have specifically recommended that INEC should consider any married girl who is not up to 18 years as eligible to vote.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Aisha Dukku, tabled the proposal before the Technical Committee on Electoral Reform on Wednesday.
The technical panel which would work on the new Electoral Act being proposed by the National Assembly was made up of lawmakers, INEC officials and civil society groups dealing with election matters.
INEC and Imo North Senatorial Bye-Election Fallouts, By Oseloka Zikora premiumtimesng.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from premiumtimesng.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The Imo North Senatorial Bye-Election has witnessed a lot of drama especially as it concerns who the candidate of the All Progressive Congress was. Various APC aspirants have taken to the courts to settle the dust raised by contentious primaries mired in controversies. Unfortunately, the courts instead of dousing the fire, seemed to have put more thongs in hearth. At the heart of the inferno are two conflicting court judgements that has left INEC confused as to who to return as the Senator Elect for the zone.
This indecisive action of INEC has led to several speculations and spins of false narratives leaving the Imo North electorate and many political watchers in limbo. While the APC hierarchy insists that Sir Frank Ibezim remains the party’s bonafide candidate and therefore the Senator Elect, the camp of Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume claims the mandate given to APC on the basis of a Federal High Court Abuja judgement disqualifying Ibezim. Ibezim supporters however point to
Imo bye-election: Court will decide winner, says INEC
Kayode Oyero
The Independent National Electoral Commission says the court will determine the legitimate candidate of the All Progressives Congress and winner of the Imo North Senatorial Bye-Election held last Saturday.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, stated this on Friday.
Controversy has trailed the Imo North Senatorial Bye-election as INEC declared APC the winner of the election without returning a candidate.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri sacked Ifeanyi Araraume as the APC candidate. Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the judgment, had declared Frank Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the APC just before the election.