The Full Court is expected to deliver its ruling next month in the appeal filed by Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield seeking to have the election petition brought by opposition PPP/C parliamentarian Ganga Persaud, struck out.
Former acting Chief Justice Ian Chang had overruled Lowenfield’s summons. The Chief Election Officer, thereafter appealed the ruling to the Full Court of the High Court.
The case is currently before acting Chief Justice Roxane George and Justice Franklyn Holder who are currently reviewing written submissions from attorneys representing the various parties.
The ruling was originally to have been handed down yesterday. The acting Chief Justice, however, apologized, stating that the court was still having deliberations. She explained too, that both her and Justice Holder have had cases to hear in the Berbice district as well as Georgetown.
Justice George then announced that the ruling will be delivered on July 7 at 1:30.
Attorney Anil Nandlall had made the argument that Lowenfield’s appeal was filed with the wrong court; contending that it should have been the Court of Appeal instead of the Full Court.
Lowenfield’s contention has been that Persaud’s election petition had no material facts and should be struck out. He had argued through his attorney Roysdale Forde, that the substantive submissions disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
Persaud had filed the petition calling on the High Court to declare the entire May 11, 2015 general elections process flawed and containing many procedural errors and so many instances of fraudulent and/or suspicious actions that “the results that have been derived from the process cannot be credibly deemed to represent accurately the will of the electorate.”
He had also asked the court to order a recount of all ballots cast in the elections.
The PPP/C had refused to accept that the APNU+AFC alliance won the 2015 elections and that coalition leader David Granger is the President.
Former president Donald Ramotar and other senior members of the party accused the coalition of rigging the elections, while challenging pronouncements from observer missions that the elections were free and fair.
