Last Thursday, two elections petitions, which were filed after the elections results were declared on August 2, were heard before the Chief Justice. The elections petitions were fixed for what is called a case management conference. This is a routine procedure in civil matters in the High Court. It is a preparatory stage to resolve preliminary issues so as to settle all preliminary matters prior to the trial. Case management conferences can be routine or complicated, depending on the nature of the case. Election matters, or at least the second matter filed, fall into this second category. There were many issues which arose for consideration. Some were raised by lawyers and some by the Chief Justice. These issues are dealt with below.
