The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) on Saturday said it was concerned over the continued and prolonged delays that have stalled the hearing of the Elections Petition case filed in the High Court, challenging aspects of the results declared following the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections.
The Party’s legal representative and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall confirmed that much progress has not been made in determining several matters related to the petition, which is before the High Court.
He recalled that after the PPP filed its case in the High Court, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Keith Lowenfield moved to the court to block the hearing of the petition.
After the High Court heard and determined Lowenfield’s summons, it was dismissed but soon after the GECOM CEO appealed the decision of the High Court.
Nandlall said the matter took about one year or more to be heard by the Full Court and that same court is taking approximately more than six months to deliver its judgement.
The PPP member added that he is very concerned because election petitions by law, and by their very nature, are expected to be heard and determined speedily.
“In fact, the law expressly provides that once the hearing begins, it should continue on a day-to-day basis by the Judge assigned to hear it… the rationale is obvious. A nation must not be in doubt about who its representatives are in the National Assembly nor who should form the Government. Delays in the hearing and determination of election petitions therefore can easily lead to chaos, civil unrest and a complete breakdown of democracy in a society,” he reiterated.
Nandlall said it was against that backdrop that it is deeply regretful that after three years, the election petition filed challenging the 2015 General and Regional Elections is yet to get off the ground.
“It is even more unfortunate that the party that is frustrating the hearing of the elections petition is the CEO whose role in an election is an impartial one and whose responsibility it is to ensure that there is fairness and compliance with the laws in relation to elections. This official, therefore, ought to be accommodating and encouraging in any process which seeks to examine the legality and propriety of elections because it is in the interest of the integrity of this officer to ensure that the integrity of the electoral process is vindicated and validated,” he remarked.
He said on the contrary, this officer attempted to strike the petition out in order to prevent legal scrutiny of the elections and then when his application is dismissed, appeals the decision further stalling the process.
“The Judiciary is not without blame in taking so long to dispose of the legal challenge and to ensure that the petition is heard with the speed contemplated by the letter and spirit of the law,” he explained.
He reminded of a situation in Trinidad in 2016 where an election petition was filed – after the PPP’s 2015 petition in Guyana – and that petition had already been determined in the High Court and in the Appeals Court.
He declined to say whether he felt the petition was deliberately being stalled by the GECOM CEO and others within the Executive branch who may have some sort of influence over the process.
It was expected since November 2017 that a speedy ruling would have been handed after the CEO’s appeal was heard by the Full Court presided over by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George and Justice Franklin Holder, who reviewed written submissions.
At that time, the Chief Justice announced that the court needed no clarification after reviewing the submissions laid over by the parties – Attorney Judy Stuart-Adonis for Attorney General Basil Williams SC; Attorney Roysdale Forde for Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; and Attorney Rajendra Jaigobin for Opposition parliamentarian Ganga Persaud.
The petition filed on behalf of the PPP/C seeks to challenge the validity of the outcome of the 2015 General and Regional Elections. (Michael Younge)
