Advertisement 87
Advertisement 211
criminal justice
Advertisement 219

A lawyer for the government has confirmed that they have re-filed an application asking the court to throw out the opposition’s election petitions as improperly before the court.

Richard Williams told iWitness News on Tuesday that a notice of motion was lodged with the court on April 14.

The new application came 10 days  the High Court ruled a similar application as “premature”.

The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) has filed petitions asking the declare them winners of the Central Leeward and North Windward constituencies in the 2015 general elections, declare them winners of the seats or order fresh elections in those districts.

High Court judge, Justice Brian Cottle on April 4 ruled as “premature” but said that having heard all the arguments, the government is bound to succeed if the motion was brought at the beginning of the hearing of the actual petitions.

Advertisement 21

Leader of the Opposition and President of the NDP, Arnhim Eustace, said on his radio programme on Monday that the government has refilled an application asking the court to throw out the petitions.

Unlike the first application, which was heard in chambers, the new motion would be heard in open court

“Those of you who can come into the court to see it, come and see it and be there. I don’t know what steps may be put in the way to stop that, but I can confirm that they have reapplied to throw out the petitions again,” he told listeners to his programme.

Meanwhile, Williams told iWitness News that in his first ruling, the judge had said the government’s applications were filed prematurely.

He, however, noted the jurist’s comments regarding the likelihood of the government’s arguments succeeding should they be re-flied at the beginning of the hearing of the petitions.

“So we are just re-fling the same thing, but just in a different format,” Williams told witness News.

He said that he thinks the government has a good case.

The lawyer while the motion is set to be heard on Thursday but the parties involved are in discussions to come to an agreement to have all matters related to the case heard on a subsequent date.

8 replies on “Gov’t re-files motion to throw out election petitions”

  1. Brown Boy USA says:

    What does the ULP has to hide? Why not let the petitions be heard and let the court decide? If the election was free and fair then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. That only concludes that the election was not free and fair and they do not want the public to know the truth. Why so adamant about getting the petitions thrown out? You want the petition to be thrown out on the basis of technicality and not because of the fact that there may have been irregularity in the election? That’s nonsense and slap in the face to Vincentians. Only time will tell!

    The people should stand up and demand that the petitions be heard so that they know what going on. After all, all of us should ensure that we have a free and fair election process in SVG, whether you are ULP, NDP, Green Party or another P, and these petitions may well open our eyes to what is going in our country. So let the petitions be heard!

  2. Looks like the ULP got caught cheating and now they have devised a “cunning plan” to deceive the people into believing right is wrong and wrong is right…seems like something out of a George Orwell novel. As usual, the people are who suffer the most.

  3. If they had done nothing wrong they would welcome the petitions being heard because they would have nothing to worry about.

    It is so obvious that the do not want the petitions heard because they know that will be the end of them.

    They have been caught cheating and they probably rigged all the past elections.

    ALBA run a training school for despots to win elections.

      1. The have offered David a job also as toilet cleaner.

        Your at it again David, stop being a stinker in calling me names.

  4. This is a perfectly legal and proper way to proceed. Any lawyers worth their salt would advise their clients to use any and all legal means to win their case. There is nothing wrong with using what some might call a “mere technicality” to win if only because technicalities — many of which are also called precedents — are one of the cornerstones of jurisprudence. Any good lawyer diligently looks for and pursues such legal means for winning on a daily basis.

    Any intelligent client would accept the advice of their lawyers in such matters.

    It is the height of legal stupidity to argue that: “If they [the government] had done nothing wrong they would welcome the petitions being heard because they would have nothing to worry about.”

    It seems like the Ralph-haters also hate the law and how it operates.

    If the government wins on a “mere technicality” they have only their lawyers, especially Kay Bacchus-Browne, to blame for their incompetent filing of the election petitions. No wonder these people don’t have the intelligence to form government.

    Long live the pursuit of justice and the rule of law!

    1. Legally stupid erhh, your at it again David.

      You must be a Ralph lover to be calling people Ralph haters?

      What on earth is wrong with you man, eaten up with spite again?

  5. They have devised a way of extending the presentation of the so as they can land charter airplanes from the Diaspora to foll the people and then call elections.

Comments closed.