Justice Egwuatu said he could not order INEC to allow every eligible voter with a temporary voter card to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.
By Jeffrey Agbo
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered INEC to allow the use of Temporary Voter Cards (TVC) in the March 18 governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
Two Nigerians, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell, filed the suit seeking the use of TVCs in the general elections in the absence of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Justice Obiora Egwuatu gave the order on Thursday on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INEC’s database.
“An order is made compelling the defendant (INEC) to allow the plaintiffs to vote using their Temporary Voter Cards issued by the defendant, the plaintiffs having been duly captured in the National Register of Voter’s database.
“A declaration is made by this court that the plaintiffs, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in the defendant’s (INEC’s) central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of the defendant’s maintained Register of Voters, the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their Temporary Voter Cards in the forthcoming 2023 General Election,” the judge said.
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Justice Egwuatu, however, said that he was unable to grant prayer three which was to allow every eligible voter with a temporary voter card to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.
The court held that there was no portion of the law, both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act that states that it is only PVCs that could be used, but that the law under Section 47 provided for a voter’s card.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, counsel to the plaintiffs, Victor Opatola, said that the judgment was a win for all Nigerians who suffered to get registered to vote, were duly registered but due to no fault of theirs could not get their PVCs before the election.
According to Opatola, since his clients had fulfilled all necessary requirements by law but were not issued their PVCs until the time for collection of PVCs was over, they should not be allowed to suffer.
INEC had repeatedly held that only eligible voters with the PVCs would be allowed to vote in the 2023 presidential, governorship and parliamentary elections.