From CHARLES IWUOHA

The legal battle between the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the outcome of March 18 Governorship election in Enugu state is now taking shape as the Election Petitions Tribunal holden at Enugu is set to commence full trial on Friday, 7th July, 2023.

Recall that Mr Peter Mbah, the candidate of the PDP was announced winner of the keenly contested election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mbah, a former Enugu State Finance Commissioner, polled a total of 160, 895 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party (LP) who garnard 157, 552 votes

Edeoga and Labour Party rejected the results announced by INEC, claiming that the election was fraught with violence, massive rigging, substantial non- compliance with the Electoral Act, and computational errors, among others.

The LP gubernatorial candidate had, in an interview, said that apart from reclaiming the mandate from those who undertook the electoral heist, the election was not a true reflection of the will of the people.

Having exchanged and adopted all the briefs during the

pre-hearing sessions, the Tribunal is now ready for proper hearing of the petitions before it.