Court rules Patterson’s order for house-to-house legal

Lenox Shuman

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire SC yesterday ruled that the order signed by former Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman James Patterson for the conduct of the national house-to-house registration exercise is neither invalid nor illegal.

Delivering her ruling yesterday afternoon, the Chief Justice stressed that although Patterson’s appointment would later be invalidated by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the acts he performed as Chairman were saved by the de facto doctrine.

By way of a fixed date application, Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party Lenox Shuman challenged the validity of the order signed by Patterson for the conduct of the registration exercise.