The Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) on Monday announced the cancellation of the re-run election in Jat Ward, Langtang North Local Government Area earlier scheduled for March 3. The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Peter Dalyop, who made the announcement in Jos, said the cancellation was in obedience to court order.

He said that some of the candidates of the PDP in the election had obtained a Jos High Court order to stop the re-run.
He said that the commission was served with the court order at the weekend, which it had to obey by suspending activities for the conduct of the poll. The PDP chairmanship candidate in Langtang North, Mr Godwin Kumzhi and councillorship candidate for Jat Ward, Nandul Takdum and the PDP had sued for the cancellation of the re-run in Jat ward.

The Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) on Monday announced the cancellation of the re-run election in Jat Ward, Langtang North Local Government Area earlier scheduled for March 3. The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Peter Dalyop, who made the announcement in Jos, said the cancellation was in obedience to court order.

He said that some of the candidates of the PDP in the election had obtained a Jos High Court order to stop the re-run.
He said that the commission was served with the court order at the weekend, which it had to obey by suspending activities for the conduct of the poll. The PDP chairmanship candidate in Langtang North, Mr Godwin Kumzhi and councillorship candidate for Jat Ward, Nandul Takdum and the PDP had sued for the cancellation of the re-run in Jat ward.

The defendants in the suit are PLASIEC, its chairman Mr Peter Dalyop, the Local Government Returning Officer for Langtang North, Mr Fabian Ntung, and the Ward Returning Officer, Jat Ward, Mr Nandon Pyendang. In a motion ex-parte, the PDP candidates prayed the court not to allow the conduct of fresh election in Jat Ward. They also urged the court for an order to compel the Local Government and Ward returning officers to declare the result in their possession for the Feb. 25 polls.

Granting the six reliefs after hearing a motion argued by counsel to the applicants, Mr S.D. Odey, Mr Justice Pius Damulak made the orders as prayed. He ordered that returning officers for Langtang North Local Government and Jat ward to add the figures collated in Jat Ward to those earlier collated from the other seven wards in Langtang North in arriving at the summary of results for the area. The judge also ordered the returning officers to announce the result of the election to the office of the chairman of Langtang North LG and declare the winner. He ordered Mr Peter Dalyop, chairman, PLASIEC as well as the returning officers for Jat ward and Langtang North Local Government Area to accept the collated figures.

He restrained all the respondents from nullifying or cancelling the scores of candidates collated from the seven polling units and Jat Ward pending hearing and determination of the originating motion for mandamus.
The court ordered that interim injunction be issued restraining the defendants and their agents from conducting any re-run election or fresh election in Jat ward The substantive motion was fixed for hearing on March 6.
The local government poll for Langtang North was declared inconclusive by PLASIEC on Feb 25 as scores from one of the wards in Jat could not be collated. The commission rescheduled a re-run poll for March 3. (NAN)

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PLASIEC cancels re-run election in Jat ward, Langtang North LGA