Tammy Walters, of Clare Valley, who presided over polling station CLB in the 2015 general election, said she took home overnight the ballot box containing the ballots and other documents ahead of the election.
Walters took the stand on Tuesday, the seventh and final day of oral testimony in the election petitions trials.
She told the court that she worked as a poll clerk in the 2010 election but in the 2015 poll it was her first time as a presiding officer.
Walters was cross examined by Queen’s Counsel Stanley “Stalky” John, lead lawyer for the petitioner, Benjamin Exeter, the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) candidate for Central Leeward in the 2010 election.
She told the court that the first time she saw the ballots was on Dec. 8, 2015, the day before the election, when she, other presiding officers and poll clerks went to collect the ballot boxes at the learning resource centre in Barrouallie.
She said that Clive Robinson, the election officer, was at the resource centre.
Walters said she had no discussions with anyone about the ballots but Robinson told the election workers to check the box to ensure they had received all the material they needed to conduct the election.
She told the court that the first time she opened the box was the day before the election.
“Well, I was told that I had to take the box,” she said, when John asked her what she did with the box.
Walters said she took the box home and took it to the polling station the following morning, Dec. 9, 2015.
Exeter has brought the petition challenging the announced victory of Sir Louis Straker of the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP).
It is one of two petitions that are being tried simultaneously this month.
The other petition was brought by Lauron “Sharer” Baptiste of the NDP, challenging the reported victory of the ULP’s Montgomery Daniel in North Windward.
Acting High Court judge, Justice Stanley John said on Tuesday that a ruling in the case could come before the end of March.
This is certainly not a breach of the SVG Elections Law (http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/StVincent/StV&Gr.html ).
Ah ha! This is it, the smoking gun that the NDP have been looking for. It’s over, case close, the NDP have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the 2015 election was stolen.
Here we have a witness confessing that she took the ballot box home and one can only imagine what unspeakable acts that was done to the ballot box.
It’s a forgone conclusion, the Court will overturn the results of the 2015 election and the NDP will take the reigns of power by April 1st 2019.
We did it! Congratulations NDP!
NINCOMPOOP !!!
For every election Julian Francis has been in charge and Ralph Gonsalves has congratulated him each time for a job well done.
So for Ralph to say he has nothing to do with electoral process is somewhat untrue, Julian is a member of the same family dynasty.
Peter Binose, a “dynasty” is defined as “a line of hereditary rulers of a country.”
Please tell us which “family dynasty” you keep yapping about? Ralph Gonsalves did not succeed any member of his family, lineage, clan, or ethnic group.
It is a figure of speech, you idiot but, we are surely moving toward that.
Kenton Chance I hope you achieved your objection by posting this story. I want you to remember that you have families too. Posting this story to give the wrong impression is tasteless and very unprofessional . I want you to remember that you have family members too and I hope that when their time comes you will post similar articles to mislead the public and have people maligning them on facebook. Today for me and tomorrow for you.
Obviously you do not understand the role of a Reporter.
Insulting to the end, Kenton. There is such a thing as a malicious reporter.
Kenton was merely stating the facts. That does not show any bias. Should he withhold the facts? He has never said that there was any cheating. Never in all his reports of this trial has he said that! He is not alleging that this woman cheated. When I read the article, my impression was that this woman Tammy Walters was not given proper instructions. That is not her fault! She may have been trying to secure the ballots in the best way possible by keeping them in her possession. The fault lies with the management conducting the election. Yes, the results should be overturned in that constituency because of POSSIBLE cheating or at the minimum total incompetence.
Obviously the results of that constituency cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and should therefore, obviously be nullified. The election was clearly an insult to a free and fair demonstration of the Democratic Process! If the results of the trial do not have an obvious verdict the country of Saint Vincent and our Justice System will be further put to shame.
It is obviously since I believe there is some level of integrity not posting sensational stories to misrepresent the truth. But Kenton even if I am dead I will hear about you.
Tammie Walters,
What about this story is untrue or misrepresents the truth?
Doesn’t the content of the article accurately reflect what you said in court?
Kenton X. Chance
Kenton you coming across like a sissy boy again.
I think that instead of attacking Kenton we should praise him for presenting accurately what was said in the court.
I unlike C Ben do not know if it is OK to take a ballot box home overnight, even school children can take a little homework home with them, so why not a ballot box, that is what C Ben is implying.
It is so important that the image to the people is protected because they will never trust elections again after this episode. But the image is best protected by people not doing things which most would naturally know to be wrong and not do it.