The Imo State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal in Owerri has postponed a case brought by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) against the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The tribunal will hear the case again on November 4, 2024.
The case, labeled EPI/IMLG/0/9/24, was filed by Henry Ifeanyi Eluwa, the state chairman of SDP. He is challenging the results of the recent local council elections, claiming that the process used to elect local government chairmen was flawed.
In their appeal, the SDP is asking for a complete cancellation of the election results, citing alleged problems and unfair practices that they believe affected the election. Eluwa also accused ISIEC of working with the ruling APC to ignore the electoral guidelines.
At the first hearing, the APC and its candidates did not show up in court, which led the tribunal to postpone the case until November 4, 2024.
The SDP’s petition mentions several local government areas, including Ezinihitte, Owerri Municipal, Obowo, and Ngor-Okpala, among others. They also requested that ISIEC chairman, Charles Ejiogu, explain why results were reported from areas where elections were said to be canceled due to insecurity.
Eluwa emphasized that the SDP is dedicated to good governance, social justice, and electoral reform, pointing out that the state electoral commission ignored the guidelines it had set for the elections.
