Attorneys representing the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) yesterday questioned the ability of the UNC to prove it was materially affected by its (EBC) decision to extend last September’s general election by an hour.
Senior Counsel Deborah Peake made the query in the Port-of-Spain High Court as she began her client’s submissions on the UNC’s petitions, in which it is claiming that EBC officials acted illegally when it followed the commission’s directive to extend voting by one hour on September 7 due to heavy rainfall.
While Peake did not comment on her client’s ability to make the decision to extend, which is central to the petitions, she focused on the UNC’s failure to adduce sufficient evidence to prove it was sufficiently affected by the decision so as to trigger by-elections as it has requested.
“There is undisputed evidence of how many persons voted after 6 pm. This is not a guessing game,” Peake said as she suggested that presiding judge Mira Dean-Armorer should strongly consider that the election result would remain the same if late votes were to be subtracted from the margin of victory in the five marginal seats for which petitions were filed.
She also attempted to poke holes in the UNC contention that its supporters were not allowed to take advantage of the extension.
“It cannot be the petitioners’ case that people were not allowed to vote after 6 pm because it is their claim that anyone who voted after 6 pm or facilitated voting committed a criminal offence,” Peake said.
“What about the citizens who took time to vote. This is important and signifies our democracy,” Peake added.
She also claimed the UNC could not complain that it was not properly notified of the extension.
“They cannot make that case because as you would see Mr Bharath (UNC candidate for St Joseph) seemed to have gotten word before anybody else at 5.05 pm,” Peake said.
Although Peake admitted that the Court of Appeal had overturned Dean-Armorer’s ruling on the UNC’s ability to adduce hearsay evidence in the case, she questioned the UNC’s decision to not bring their witnesses to be cross-examined.
“We would like to know why you are not calling witnesses you are relying on because it would go to the credibility of the evidence they are attempting to adduce,” Peake said.
The UNC initially filed petitions for six marginal constituencies—La Horquetta/Talparo, Toco/ Sangre Grande, Tunapuna, St Joseph, San Fernando West and Moruga/Tableland.
In March, however, the petition for La Horquetta/Talparo was struck out by Dean-Armorer due to an administrative error by the UNC in filing it. 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.
Peake is expected to continue her submissions when the case resumes today.