Section 72 - Certificate of return

(1) A sealed certificate of return at an election in a prescribed form shall be issued within 14 days to every candidate who has been returned by the returning officer in an election under this Act:

Provided that where the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court being the final appellate court in any election petition nullifies any candidate’s certificate of return, the Commission shall within 48 hours after receipt of the court’s order, issue the successful candidate with a valid certificate of return.

(2) Where the Commission fails, refuses, or neglects to issue the certificate of return under subsection (1), a certified true copy of the order of the court shall, by that very fact, be sufficient for the purpose of swearing-in a candidate declared as the winner of the election by that court.