Election petitions: Senate wants INEC to provide proofs

The Senate yesterday moved to make it the responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide proofs in the conduct and regularity before the Election Petition Tribunals or courts when it considered a bill to that effect.
The bill which scaled through second reading yesterday if passed into law would, amongst others, place the burden of proof of elections on the shoulders of the INEC instead of the litigants, and as well reduce the difficulties petitioners face in trying to get the necessary documents to support their petitions.

Leading the debate, sponsor of the bill, Senator Hadi Sirika, said: “It is not in doubt that the process of proving the regularity or otherwise of the conduct of an election is one process that is highly burdensome and ought not to be placed or vested on the petitioner who did not conduct the election, but only participated in it.

“The onus of proving the regularity of an election ought to be a burden to be discharged by the body or organisation that prepared and arranged for the conduct of that election and thereafter went ahead to conduct the said election.
Senator Joshua Lidani, said it was the litigant that should show evidence and that the bill was against the jurisprudence of the country and if passed would contradict the Evidence Act.
He further stated that the proposed amendment was unpractical and would create a deluge of litigation as everybody would like to go to court or tribunal including those that did not participate in the election
Those, who supported the bill, said it would speed up the process of resolving election petition cases.
Senator Atai Aidoko said if INEC was saddled with the responsibility to prove regularity of the election, that the election was done well, it should be able to go to the tribunal with the materials.

He added that if INEC could prove that what they did was correct, it would reduce the time wasted at the tribunal.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, referred the bill to the Constitutional Review Committee and INEC upon being passed for second reading by the Senate.
Both committees where given a two-week period within which to report back to the Upper Chamber.