Lawyers in the votes recount case were given until 6am tomorrow to file submissions, as the Court of Appeal gears up to hear the case at 10am. Tomorrow’s hearing will see lawyers for APNU+AFC Candidate Ulita Moore presenting arguments on the merits of her application for leave to appeal a ruling by the Full Court which, among other things, discharged an injunction blocking a CARICOM-supervised recount of all the ballots cast in the March 2 General and Regional Elections.
The lawyers for and against the appeal were given half an hour to present their arguments. Appeal Court Judge, Dawn Gregory pleaded with the lawyers to condense their submissions. The judge noted the urgency in which the matter has to be heard and said that the court expects to conclude hearing arguments by midday tomorrow. Thereafter, she disclosed the court will project when it will hand down its ruling.
On Tuesday, the Full Court quashed a decision by Justice Franklin Holder in which he ruled that the High Court has jurisdiction to hear an application by Moore, in which she asked the court to inquire into the constitutionality of a decision made by GECOM to have a high level CARICOM team supervise a national recount of the votes.
The Full Court comprising Chief Justice Roxane George and Justice Nareshwar Harnanan held that the issues raised in Moore’s case are best suited for an election petition pursuant to the Elections Law (Amendment Act) No. 15 of 2000, as it questions decisions made by GECOM and its Commissioners. According to the two judges, the court questioning decisions made by the electoral body, would result in it overreaching, trespassing its authority.
In light of the foregoing, the Full Court discharged the interim injunction granted by Justice Holder which blocked the recount and dismissed the application filed by Moore. In doing so, the judges held that the High Court has no jurisdiction to hear the case. The Judges also refused an application for a stay of their decision pending an appeal. It also refused an application by Moore’s lawyers, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and Mayo Robertson for leave to file an appeal.
In light of the above, Moore’s lawyers, yesterday, filed a Notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal in which they are contending that the Full Court erred in law in arriving at its decision. Among other things, the lawyers are contending that the Full Court’s decision to quash Justice Holder’s ruling on jurisdiction is arbitrary, unreasonable and bad in law. Further to that, the lawyers are also requesting a stay of the Full Court’s ruling until the hearing and determination of the appeal.
GECOM, its Chairperson Justice Claudette Singh; Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo; Mark France; Daniel Josh Kanhai and John Flores, are listed as Respondents in Moore’s appeal. Jagdeo is being represented by Trinidad-based Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes and lawyer Anil Nandlall.
