The Imo State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal, located in Owerri, is currently looking into a case. This case was put forward by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) against the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). It’s all about the local council elections that just happened in Imo State.
The case, known by its number EPI/IMLG/0/9/24, was filed by Henry Ifeanyi Eluwa, who is the state chairman of SDP. He doesn’t agree with how the chairmen for local government councils were chosen in the state.
The SDP wants the election results to be completely canceled. They say that there were problems and cheating during the elections that made them unfair.
Eluwa also claimed that the ISIEC, working together with the state’s ruling party, APC, did not follow the rules they were supposed to for the elections.
At the first hearing on October 17, 2024, the APC and their candidates didn’t show up in court. This caused the tribunal to postpone the meeting to November 4, 2024.
The areas mentioned in the complaint include Ezinihitte, Owerri Municipal, Obowo, and Ngor-Okpala, along with others.
The SDP also wants the ISIEC chairman, Charles Ejiogu, to tell the voters how results appeared from places where the Commission itself said elections couldn’t happen because of safety issues.
The SDP chairman said that the party will keep working hard for better government, fairness, and changes in elections.
He emphasized that the state electoral commission did not follow their own election rules that they gave to political parties and everyone else before the election.