Case management conference set for Dec. 7

Nov 02, 2022 News

APNU/AFC’s 2nd dismissed election petition…

Kaieteur News – A case management hearing into the APNU/AFC coalition’s second election petition appeal, which challenges the 2020 General and Regional Elections, has been fixed for December 7 at 9:30hours.

The case was called on Tuesday before Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud. Roysdale Forde, attorney representing petitioners Claudette Thorne and Heston Bostwick, had written the Registrar of the Court of Appeal requesting that the matter be heard urgently given its national importance and arguing that it is “a failure of the judicial system” to have an appeal pending for 16 months.

Last April, the Coalition filed a Notice of Appeal against Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire’s decision to dismiss the second election petition case. Both, Thorne and Bostwick had argued that Section 22 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act (ELA) and Order #60 of 2020, otherwise known as the Recount Order, are unconstitutional, and resulted in breaches and violations by GECOM in its conduct of the elections.

Through their attorney, it was argued, among other things, that the trial judge erred in law when she ruled that, “Section 22 of the Elections Law (Amendment) Act 2000 and Order 60 made thereunder were not in violation of the Constitution of Guyana…”

In their request for the Court of Appeal to set aside the CJ’s ruling, the lawyers submitted that Justice George-Wiltshire, SC erred in law when she ruled that the said Order 60 was intra vires the Constitution of Guyana by virtue of conferment of powers under Article 162 (1) (b) and Section 22 of the ELA.

“The Learned Judge erred in law when she ruled that the Appellants did not produce evidence in the said Petition, in that, being a Petition which claimed that the said March 2 Elections was not lawfully conducted, there was no need for production of any evidence except what was presented, namely, the Declarations as per Regional Returning Officers’ 1 to 10 and the Recount,” the appeal document said.

Further, it noted that the judge erred in law when she ordered that the Statements of Poll (SoPs) and Statements of Recount (SoRs) from the March 2020 General and Regional Elections remain in the custody of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Judicature until all the cases have been completed.

The Chief Justice (CJ) had previously dismissed Petition #99 filed on behalf of Monica Thomas and Brenan Nurse in January 2021, for non-compliance in relation to effecting of service on former President David Granger. The petitioners had served Granger with the documents too late.

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