Source: CitizensReportGY.com

Good Work Anil Nandlall!!

ACTING Chief Justice, Ian Chang, today dismissed a summons filed by Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, to quash the elections petition advanced by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

Lowenfield, via his Attorney, Roysdale Forde, sought to quash the election petition on the basis that material facts and sufficient grounds were not provided to allow the matter to go to trial. He argued too that the challenge is without basis.

The PPP/C legal team is arguing that the High Court is working within the framework of the Validity of Elections Act, which allows the PPP/C to be able to access the additional information held by GECOM. Consequently, the PPP/C team is also arguing that, in line with the provisions of the Act, the Court has no power to quash the petition on the grounds being contested by Forde.

Considering all the arguments, Chang, dismissed the CEO’s summons and stated that there is sufficient grounds for the matter to go to trial. He also stated that in accordance with Article 163 of the Constitution, the court has no jurisdiction to strike out the petition. On that basis he said the matter should go to trial.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, who is part of the PPP/C legal team, in an invited comment, noted that the ruling has paved the way for the matter to proceed to trial.

“It is my expectation that a date will be fixed by the current Acting Chief Justice (Yonette Cummings-Edwards), if she decides to hear the matter herself, or that or will be assigned to another judge at the earliest possible date,” he said.

ANOTHER SUMMONS

In another summons before the court, the PPP/C election agent, Ganga Persaud, is seeking a number of orders relative to the disclosure of information by Lowenfield. The PPP/C legal team is arguing that the Court has the power to grant this order, which would allow the concerns in the first and second summons to be addressed.

As such, the orders being sought include:

• An Order directing the Chief Elections Officer to produce for inspection and examination for the purpose of the Election Petition filed herein, the parcels all election papers and documents including those he received from the Returning Officer of each electoral division under Section 102 of the Representation of the People Act including but not limited to the following: (a) all electoral lists containing the names of the persons entitled to vote at the said polling division; (b) all issued ballots; (c) all unused ballots; (d) all the votes cast by electors at each polling division; (e) all statements of poll issued at the said polling division; (f) all certificates of counting issued in respect to the votes cast at each and every polling division; (g) all poll books used at each and every polling division

• An order that the following persons, namely Mr. Mohabir A. Nandlall, Mr. Abraham Dabdoub, Ms. Bibi Safora Shadick, Ms. Priya Manickchand, Ms. Latchmi Rahamat, Mr. Adrian Anamayah, Mr. Euclin Gomes and Mr. Charles S. Ramson Jr., Attorneys-at-Law, be and are allowed to inspect and examine the election papers and documents set out in Paragraph (i) of this Order and to take copies of the said election papers and documents, including but not limited to: (a) all electoral lists containing the names of the persons entitled to vote at the said polling division; (b) all issued ballots; (c) all unused ballots; (d) all the votes cast by electors at each polling division; (e) all statements of poll issued at the said polling division; (f) all certificates of counting issued in respect to the votes cast at each and every polling division; (g) all poll books used at each and every polling division.
• These requests, according to the court document seen by Citizens’ Report, are in connection with the pursuance of the prosecution of this election petition.

The 15-page elections petition requests that the court order the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to conduct a forensic recount of the May 11 votes.

The petition questions whether the election was lawfully conducted and the possibility of the officially declared results being altered.

Lowenfield, and heads of the lists of representatives from the eight contesting political parties, which indicated their intentions of entering the elections race to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on April 7, Nomination Day, are named as respondents in the matter.