With only three weeks to the general elections, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately register and recognise the Young Democratic Party as a political party.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed in his judgment held that the YDP was deemed registered as a political party by virtue of the failure of INEC to communicate its decision not to register the then political association as a political party within 30 days of receiving its (the plaintiff’s) application as stipulated in section 78 (4) of the Electoral Act.

The court therefore ordered INEC to immediately issue the party with its certificate of registration.

It made the orders in his judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/736/14 filed by the YDM challenging its denial of registration by INEC.

The court held, “It is therefore clear that from whatever angle one looks at the peculiar circumstance of this case, the defendant (INEC) did not discharge its obligation of informing the plaintiff of the decision not to register it as a political party within the 30 days as clearly stipulated in section 78 (4) of the Electoral Act.

“The effect of not informing the plaintiff within 30 days of the defendant’s decision to register the plaintiff as a political party is clearly spelt out in section 78(4) of the Act, which is that the plaintiff is deemed to have been registered as a political party by virtue of the law.

“In the final analysis, I am satisfied that having regard to the affidavit evidence of parties, the plaintiff’s suit succeeds. I hereby grant all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff in its amended originating summons dated December 2, 2014.”

The plaintiff was said to have submitted its application for registration as a political party accompanied with the complete set of requisite documents to INEC on April 1, 2014.

The INEC was said to have later, in a letter dated August 13, 2014, informed the applicant that its application was being processed.

However, on September 15, 2014, INEC was said to have informed the applicant that it did not meet the conditions for registration as a political party.

The court held that INEC, having informed the applicant through a letter dated August 13, 2014, which came about 120 days after receiving the application, showed that the “application was without defect.”

Justice Mohammed held that INEC’s letter dated September 15, 2014, informing the plaintiff of its decision not to register it as a political party was a belated attempt to fulfil the provisions of section 78(4) of the Electoral Act.

The court held, “The defendant did not say in Exhibit F that the plaintiff has not met the conditions for registration.

“When, therefore, the defendant wrote exhibit H to the plaintiff, stating that its application has failed to satisfy section 223(1)(b) and (2)(b) of the Constitution, the information in my view was nothing but a belated attempt to comply with section 78 (4) of the Electoral Act.

“This is because exhibit H, which was written on September 15, 2014, came five months or 150 days after receiving the plaintiff’s application for registration as a political party.”

Justice Mohammed who, earlier dismissed INEC’s notice of preliminary objection challenging the competence of the plaintiff to sue and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit, also held that the excuse by INEC for not registering the plaintiff’s in its letters written in July and August 2014 were belated.

The court held, “Although the defendant (INEC) has averred in paragraphs 5, 6 and 10 of its counter-affidavit and relied on exhibits INEC 1 to 9 that the plaintiff has applied to withdraw its logo and replace the old logo with a new one, that there was an application to withdraw copies of the plaintiff’s constitution and manifesto earlier submitted and that the membership of the National Executive Committee fell short of the requirement of the law, a careful reading of the same exhibits will show that the said exhibits 1 – 9 were written on July 22, 2014; July 14, 2014 and August 5, 2014 and August 3, 2014, respectively.

“Even if it were to be contended that the process of registration was ongoing as at those dates, the letter of the defendant, that is, exhibit H written on September 15, 2014, informing the plaintiff of its decision not to register it as a political party came 30 days after exhibits 1 – 5 were written in July and August 2014.”

INEC had said it had appealed against the court decisions.

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