The Opposition UNC’s legal team has hailed yesterday’s Court of Appeal ruling as a victory and slammed detractors who had said the UNC’s election petition had been destined to fail.
“(Instead) The rule of law, democracy and the Constitution have triumphed today,” said team leader, former attorney general Anand Ramlogan. “The judgments were illuminating, powerful and very incisive from all three judges... we have won a significant victory for democracy. It has put lie to those who cried us down and those who said it was doomed to failure,” he added.
Ramlogan, backed by members of his legal team, including Gerald Ramdeen and Darryl Heeralal, spoke to reporters at the Hall of Justice soon after the ruling. EBC chairman Dr Norbert Masson, who attended yesterday’s court session, declined comment, silently walking past reporters outside the court
UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar called it a victory as well as a landmark judgment. Ramlogan, said of the ruling: “This case raises novel, complex, very important questions for a young democracy and it’s good it will proceed to trial. Regardless of the outcome, the public will benefit from the guidance the courts will provide.”
Slamming detractors of UNC’s petition, he noted in the lead-up to the appeals and in the appeal, “the kind of negative coverage, criticism and sometime abuse which were heard” by those in the UNC who had “dared simply to exercise their constitutional democratic right to lay before the court a legal challenge to the results.
“We took a lot of licks from our colleagues on the opposite side, the media. The UNC leader, Kamla Persad Bissessar herself, took quite a beating for pursuing these election petitions and she was at pains to point out it was about the rule of law and the breaches, not just to the rule of law but to the spirit of the law.” Commenting on the Chief Justice’s lone dissenting voice, Ramlogan said: “It’s not often there is a dissenting judgment from the Honourable Chief Justice but it augurs well for the strength, independence and fairness of the Judiciary system.”
He noted there were other matters which had arisen concerning the election and EBC where two people in Tobago had filed constitutional motions claiming discrimination as the voting time had been extended in Trinidad only and not Tobago. Persad-Bissessar said yesterday’s judgment was a vindication of her decision to support publicly the UNC election petitions in the public interest .
In a press release on the ruling, Persad-Bissessar said the UNC welcomed the historic, landmark ruling It added: “This is a victory for democracy and the people of T&T who are entitled to a system of elections that is free, fair and in accordance with the Constitution. “The overriding objective is to protect the cherished principles of our democracy enshrined in the Constitution ... no man or entity is above the law, hence the EBC is itself subject to the Constitution from which it derives its powers.
“We maintain there is a strong case that the decision to extend the time for voting by one hour was illegal and unfair. It put the UNC election machinery and supporters at a great disadvantage and contravened both the spirit and letter of the law.“ She said, for instance, it was very strange the EBC didn’t similarly extend the time for voting in Tobago.
The release added: “The (court) victory paves the way for a full-scale trial of (all) these election petitions. Ordinary citizens from all walks of life who were affected by the decision or who may be in possession of relevant information can now come forward and let their voices be heard. “Many aggrieved citizens who were turned away at the polls when they went to cast their vote after 6 pm will no doubt let their voices be heard. “The chaos and confusion that followed the sudden decision by the EBC to extend the voting time will now be the subject of judicial scrutiny. “Conflicting information and opinions saw many polling stations remaining closed whilst others allowed people to vote in the midst of the prevailing uncertainty as to what the true, correct position was.“