The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and its party have withdrawn an application filed at the Appeal Court, Abuja, seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow their agents to participate in the sorting out ballot papers used for last month’s election.

The plaintiff had in a motion ex-parte marked: CA/PEC/10M/2023, asked the court to compel INEC to allow their agents to participate in the exercise.

The appeal court is also serving as the presidential election petition tribunal.

However, at Wednesday’s proceeding, the PDP candidate through his team of lawyers led by Joe Kyari Gadzama (SAN) told the court that he filed a notice of discontinuance on the application.

Following the development, the three-member panel led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh dismissed the application.

Atiku, who polled 6,984,520 votes to finish second in the election, is challenging the INEC declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the winner of the exercise.