The United National Congress has appealed a judge’s decision to dismiss its five election petitions challenging the result of last September’s general elections. Attorneys for the Opposition party filed its appeal of Justice Mira Dean-Armorer’s decision last Thursday.
In her judgement last month, Dean-Armorer had rejected the UNC’s claim that the election should be invalidated because the Election and Boundaries’ Commission (EBC) was not allowed to extend the poll by one hour due to heavy rainfall in Trinidad.
While Dean-Armorer had agreed with the UNC that the EBC acted illegally, she ruled that its error did not materially affect the result of the election, in which People’s National Movement (PNM) beat the UNC by a 23-18 margin.
A date for a hearing of the appeal is expected to be set by the Court of Appeal within 14 days. In its notice of appeal, the UNC identified almost two dozen grounds on which they are challenging Dean-Armorer’s judgment.
The party claims that the judge erred in speculating over its decision to file petitions for only six marginal constituencies-San Fernando West, Tunapuna, St Joseph, Toco/Sangre Grande, Moruga/Tableland and La Horquetta/Talparo.
The petition for La Horquetta/Talparo was dismissed before the trial of the petitions, as it was served on the successful PNM candidate Maxie Cuffie past the deadline required.
The UNC also contends that the judge was wrong to dismiss its evidence of the unknown consequences of the EBC’s decision as speculation.
“It was not known from the evidence before her how many people were aware of the commission’s directive and how those people who were aware of it would have reacted to it.
“These unknown consequences meant that the learned judge could not properly have found with certainty that the breaches did not materially affect the outcome of the election,” the appeal stated.
In a press release, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her party’s Queen’s Counsel advised that it has a strong appeal against Dean-Armorer’s views on the consequences of the illegality committed by the EBC.
“The Court of Appeal is the final court in election matters and we believe the issues raised in these election petitions warrant further judicial scrutiny, so that there can be a definitive statement on the law. I expect that the appeal will provide much-needed clarification on issues that are critical and central to our democracy,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Persad-Bissessar again criticised the EBC’s conduct in handling the election and extension.
“No doubt, the EBC acted on legal advice in this matter. As would be expected, a well resourced institution like the EBC would retain the best lawyers that money can buy to advise it.
“In spite of this they got it wrong, as the court agreed with us that the decision to extend the time for voting was unconstitutional and illegal,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said the EBC was yet to file a cross-appeal challenging Dean-Armorer’s findings against it.