Home » News » It’s wrong to end voter registration – Court stops INEC from ending exercise
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon, has told INEC that it is wrong for them to end the ongoing voter registration on June 30th, 2022.
Making the pronouncement on Monday, the court granted an order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP and 185 concerned Nigerians had early this month filed the lawsuit against INEC asking the court to “declare unconstitutional, illegal, and incompatible with international standards the failure of the electoral body to extend the deadline for voter registration to allow eligible Nigerians to exercise their rights.”
SERAP had demanded in the suit that the court for restrained INEC, its agents, privies, assigns, or any other person(s) claiming through it from discontinuing the continuous voters’ registration exercise from the 30th June 2022 or any other date pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The court adjourned the suit to the 29th of June, 2022 for the hearing of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction.
The suit followed the decision by INEC to extend the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties by six days, from June 3 to June 9.
But the commission failed to also extend the online pre-registration which ended May 30 2022 and the Continuous Voter Registration ending June 30, 2022.
In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1034/2022 filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, and transferred to Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to determine “whether the failure of INEC to extend the deadline for voter registration is not a violation of Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], the Electoral Act, and international standards.
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