Federal High Court Orders Use of Temporary Voter Cards for Elections

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the use of Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) in the forthcoming governorship and state houses of assembly elections slated for March 18.

This order comes after two aggrieved Nigerians filed a suit challenging INEC’s position on the use of TVCs in the absence of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

In the suit filed on February 8 and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell asked the court to determine whether a person whose name appears in the electronic format in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record, or hard copy format of the register of voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number can be said to be entitled to be accredited to vote with his/her TVC in the general election to be conducted by the defendant.

They further requested the court to determine whether such a person can be disenfranchised of the right and entitlement to vote in the 2023 general election as a consequence of INEC’s liabilities.

The plaintiffs asked for “a declaration that the plaintiff, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in its central database and manual, printed paper-based record, or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters, the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the 2023 General Elections.”

The court ruled that there was no portion of the law, both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act that states that only PVCs could be used, but that the law under Section 47 provided for a voter’s card.

Justice Egwuatu held that the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INEC’s database.

He ruled that “an order is made compelling the defendant 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 Voters database.”

The judge further held that the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the forthcoming 2023 general election, “having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record, or hard copy format”.

However, prayer 3 which was a request to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote was not granted as the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.

Speaking, counsel for the plaintiffs, Victor Opatola said that the judgement 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.

He said, “since my 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”. Opatola further asserted that the content of the TVC was the same as the content of the PVC, and the only difference was the plastic used for the PVC.