Even if the votes of all electors who cast their ballots in last year’s general election after 6 pm were deducted from PNM candidates, they would have still won by convincing majorities.
This was the opinion proffered by Douglas Mendes, SC, head of the PNM’s legal team for election petitions brought by the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) challenging the Election and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) decision to extend the September 7 poll by one hour due to heavy rainfall.
Presenting the PNM’s submissions on the petitions in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Mendes refered to statistics from the EBC on the number of voters who used the extension, the total voter turnout and the margin of victory in the five marginal constituencies being petitioned.
“Even if you were to subtract all the votes in question, irregardless which candidate was selected, from the PNM column, they will all still win by resounding margins,” Mendes said, as he pointed out than even in the Moruga/Tableland constituency, which had the slimmest margin of 533 votes, only 203 voted after 6 pm.
Referring to claims by the UNC that the results for those consistencies should be voided regardless of the numerical analysis because the EBC was allegedly not allowed to grant the extension.
Mendes questioned why only specific constituencies were chosen when the same “illegal voting” also took place in the other 34 constituencies in T&T.
“If they were really concerned about a Government being elected in a corrupt election, then you would challenge all the constituencies,” Mendes said, as he noted that the UNC was seeking by-elections in those constituencies in the event their petitions were successful.
He also criticised the UNC as he said representatives for its candidates had written to the EBC on election day complaining of issues at polling stations and calling for an extension of voting.
Mendes identified one letter from a legal adviser of St Joseph candidate, Vasant Bharath, who threatened to sue the EBC if an extension was not provided.
“They asked the EBC to do something in good faith and now they are asking to set that aside just because they lost,” Mendes said.
The constituencies being challenged are St Joseph, Moruga/Tableland, Toco/Sangre Grande, Tunapuna and San Fernando West.
A petition was filed for La Horquetta/Talparo but it was dismissed at a preliminary stage by trial judge Mira Dean-Armorer due to an administrative error in filing it.
The UNC is claiming the EBC does not have the power to extend any election as such power is only within Parliament’s remit.
Besides the petitions, Dean-Armorer has also been assigned two cases in which three private citizens are challenging the EBC’s decision.
Social activist, Ravi Balgobin Maharaj, has filed a judicial review seeking the court’s clarification on whether the EBC had the constitutional power to make the decision and Irwin Lyne and Melissa Sylvan are claiming that the EBC breached the constitutional rights of Tobagonians by not allowing them an extension.
Both cases have been deferred as they would be directly affected by the outcome of Dean-Armorer’s decision on the petitions.
Mendes will continue his submissions when the case resumes next Tuesday.