Supreme Court wants more time to handle petitions arising out of the presidential election

The Justices of the Supreme Court have called for an amendment of the law to allow them more time to handle presidential election petitions.

The remarks were made during a four-day symposium during which the justices discussed how best to handle petitions that could arise out of the 2021 general elections.

Currently, Section 59 of the Presidential Elections Act of 2020 requires aggrieved parties to file presidential election petitions within fifteen days from the declaration of the results.

The same provision requires the court to hear and determine the petition with 45 days from the date of the filing.

However, the Chief Justice, Owiny-Dollo,said time is not enough to handle all the issues raised within the stipulated time considering the effect of the decision on the entire country.

He said the country is too big and one needs sufficient time to collect evidence from various places.

"We are going to hold the presidential election in the mid January. The terms of the current president ends in May 2021, so the question is; what is the two weeks all about? What is the rush for? We need ample time to handle the matter," he said.

Owiny-Dollo said because of the time constraints, most issues in the petition are not given crucial determination and evaluation.

He also called upon justices to be cognisant of the law and refrain from basing their judgement on their political sentiments when handling petitions.

"The court must never play politics when handling the petitions because if it plays politics, then it is the political ideology which will be in the judgement something which is very wrong. The court must pronounce itself on what the the law is,"he noted