Abuja – The Edo State Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) challenging the victory of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The tribunal ruled that the petitioners failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims of electoral malpractice and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The tribunal, in its judgment, stated that the AA’s allegations of corrupt practices were unsubstantiated and did not exist in a “vacuum.” Furthermore, the panel determined that the petitioners failed to demonstrate how these alleged corrupt practices significantly affected the outcome of the election.
A key point highlighted by the tribunal was the issue of locus standi. The judges emphasized that only a political party that fields a candidate in an election possesses the legal standing to challenge the election’s outcome. In this case, the Action Alliance did not field a candidate in the senatorial election, thereby lacking the necessary legal right to contest the result.
“The petitioners woefully failed to prove their case,” the tribunal stated, adding that the grievances presented by the Action Alliance were pre-election matters that should have been addressed at the state high court, not the election petition tribunal. The tribunal concluded that it lacked the locus standi to entertain the petition, effectively deeming it a pre-election matter.
Consequently, the tribunal dismissed the Action Alliance’s petition in its entirety, citing a lack of merit. This ruling reaffirms Senator Monday Okpebholo’s victory and solidifies his position as the duly elected senator.
