EC asks court to drop motion by ex-governor

THE Electoral Commission has asked the court to dismiss a motion filed by former Chimbu Governor Noah Kool relating to the recount of the Chimbu provincial seat.
Kool had lost the seat to Michael Dua in the 2017 general election.
He challenged the result in an election petition forcing the court to order a recount.
The recount was completed on May 7.
But Kool through his lawyer filed a motion on May 10 asking the court to declare the result of the recount void and to order another recount a by-election.
Kool alleged that there were illegal practices during polling because some tickets with butts were discovered during the recount.
He urged the court not to accept the result of the recount.
Commission lawyer Moses Ninkama objected to the motion and submitted that the allegations were based on speculation and false information which lacked evidence.
He argued that the allegations related to the polling area, while the initial election petition was on errors and omissions during the counting. Ninkama said all the relief sought in the initial petition had been met.
The court is yet to announce the results of the recount and decide on the costs.
Lawyer Camilius Gagma representing Dua objected to the motion by Kool saying the results of the recount remained more or less the same as the 2017 national general election. Dua won by a margin of 11,000-plus votes.
Justice Collin Makail adjourned the matter to May 24.