Breaking: House Committee’s INEC Directive Raises Legal Questions Over Candidates’ Disqualification.
Questions have been raised over the legal basis of a reported letter by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Amendment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify candidates whose names have already been published.
The controversy follows the Committee’s purported reliance on the recent Supreme Court judgment in INEC v. ZLP & Ors.
Legal and political observers are now asking whether the Supreme Court judgment actually ordered INEC to disqualify the affected candidates.
Another question arising from the development is whether a letter issued by a House committee can confer new powers on INEC or alter the existing provisions of the Electoral Act.
Critics of the directive argue that a committee letter cannot amend the Electoral Act, create a new ground for disqualification or expand the scope of an order issued by the Supreme Court.
They therefore want the House Committee to clearly identify the specific provision of the law or portion of the Supreme Court judgment that empowers it to direct INEC to disqualify candidates whose names have already been published.
The development has consequently triggered calls for clarification on the constitutional and legal authority behind the Committee’s directive and whether INEC is legally bound to act on such a letter.